Two South African nationals, a mother and son, who pleaded guilty to having £750,000 worth of cocaine have been jailed for seven years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Gardai arrested Sheila Stone (51) and Adam Barker (28), of Swaziland, for having 5.2 kg of cocaine in the Clifton Court Hotel, Eden Quay, Dublin, on October 21st, 1999.
Det Garda Jim McDermot, of the Garda National Drugs Unit, told Ms Una Ni Raifeartaigh, prosecuting, the pair were couriers for a Nigerian drug trafficking syndicate.
Judge Elizabeth Dunne said she accepted that poverty made both mother and son vulnerable to drug traffickers. She referred to the legislative framework which imposed a 10-year sentence but gave the pair seven-year terms.