Arrested drug couriers swallowed 200 pellets of cocaine

CUSTOMS officers intercepted three drug couriers at the weekend, who had swallowed nearly 200 pellets of cocaine between them.

Two of the men were stopped at Dublin airport and a third at Cork airport.

All three couriers were foreign nationals, but one was resident in Ireland.

Customs are concerned at the high number of incidents, particular as each courier came from different countries.

There have been four swallowing incidents at Dublin airport already this year, compared with eight last year. Customs officers believe this may reflect a trend among traffickers to use swallowers again to smuggle drugs.

In the first incident, on Saturday, Customs officers at Dublin airport intercepted a 30-year-old west African man, who is living in Ireland. A spokesman said after questioning, officers suspected the man had ingested a quantity of drugs. The man had earlier arrived on a flight from Brussels.

“It was discovered he had ingested 100 pellets of cocaine, weighing approximately 1kg, and with a street value of €70,000,” said the spokesman.

On Sunday, officers at Dublin airport, in a joint operation with the Garda National Immigration Bureau, detained a 39-year-old South African male, who arrived on a flight from Argentina.

Officers suspected the man had ingested drugs and he was handed over to gardaí at Santry.

He was found to have four pellets of cocaine, weighing around 0.25kg, with an estimated street value of €17,500.

Both men were due before Dublin District Court yesterday.

In a third incident, at Cork airport on Sunday night, Customs officers, in conjunction with immigration officials and the Garda Drug Unit, stopped and detained a 60-year-old South African male. He arrived off a flight from Brazil, via Amsterdam.

He was transferred to Cork University Hospital, where it was later discovered he had ingested 77 pellets, containing approximately 1kg of cocaine, with a street value of €70,000.

Pellets can vary in size, with some holding more drugs than others. Typically, they are the size of a thick cocktail sausage.