Young woman jailed after being caught with cocaine worth €70k

A young woman who was caught in a taxi with €70,000 worth of cocaine was jailed yesterday for six years with half of the sentence suspended.

Jennifer Heaphy, aged 22, of 59 Kerryhall Rd, Fairhill, Cork, was sentenced at Cork Circuit Criminal Court for possession of cocaine for sale or supply at Sallybrook, Glanmire, Co Cork, on March 23, at a time when its value exceeded €13,000 — the threshold figure for a mandatory 10-year sentence.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said he disagreed with the submission made by senior counsel Alice Fawsett that there was an element of pre-determination for the defendant because of the entrenched nature of drugs in her family background.