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Cannabis smuggler "risked life" to get money for sick mother, court hears

Summary

Gerardo Martinez Rodriguez, a 34‑year‑old Spanish national, was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment for possessing and importing 1,029.9 g of cannabis resin, worth €6,179, into Ireland. He had swallowed 107 pellets of the resin over several days before travelling to Dublin, and was arrested at Dublin Airport Terminal 2 on 24 July 2015. Garda Tanya Shinkins reported that Rodriguez was escorted to Beaumont Hospital shortly after his arrest because the authorities feared the drugs might rupture his insides. He pleaded guilty at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court and admitted that he had concealed the resin internally. In his defence, his lawyer argued that Rodriguez had no prior convictions, had been unemployed for three years, and had intended to sell the drugs for €1,000 to help his sick mother.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Cannabis smuggler "risked life" to get money for sick mother, court hears. Charges or matters: possessing and importing 1029.9g of cannabis resin worth €6,179 at Dublin Airport Terminal 2 on July 24, 2015. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• July 24, 2015 Incident
• 2015-10-06 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Airport Incidents Drugs Stage Sentence

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Read the original CNI report