South African ‘loses bag’ with €150k of cannabis

A SOUTH AFRICAN dementia suffer lost a bag containing €150,000 worth of cannabis in the airport, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.

Valerie Haape, aged 61, was flying to Dublin from Johannesburg, but somehow her bag arrived before her and was found unattended in the airport by customs officals. They became suspicious and noted Haape’s name on the bag label before finding her waiting at the baggage claim.

They took her into a office and she thanked them for finding her bag. She claimed her daughter had helped her pack it. Customs officals X-rayed it and discoverd a large package containing about 17 kilograms of cannabis herb.

Haape of the Glenheim Hotel, Durban, South Africa, initially said she had never seen it before, but then admitted she had been given the drugs by “some Nigerians” and was to give them to a man in Dublin called Tom. Garda Damien Rogers told prosecuting counsel that she “was used by smarter and more devious people in the background”.

He said the drugs were so heavy that Haape was unable to carry the bag on her own. Following her arrest, she told gardaí that it had never been discussed how much she would be paid for transporting the drugs.

Gda Rogers said she had no previous convictions here or in South Africa and was divorced and “down on her luck”. He described her as a vulnerable person who had mental health issues.

Haape pleaded guilty to the importation of drugs at Dublin Airport on February 22, 2008. Judge Martin Nolan adjourned finalisation until later this month and remanded Haape in custody.