UK national jailed in €600,000 cocaine case

A British national has been jailed for six years for transporting more than €600,000 of cocaine to Ireland in a lorry load of quilts.

Naveed Aslam (aged 31) of Newington Avenue, Manchester pleaded guilty to transporting the 8.83kg of cocaine to Killane’s Furniture Megastore outside Lusk, Co Dublin on September 14, 2006.

His co-accused, David Timmons (aged 25) of Chapel Gate, Balbriggan and Brian Thompson (aged 48), of Silverwell Road, Croxteth, Liverpool were jailed for six years and five years respectively for their parts in the drugs deal.

Detective Sergeant Gregory Sheehan of the Garda National Drugs Unit said he saw Timmons lead Aslam’s lorry to the furniture store, then drive from the scene when Thompson got out of his green Nissan Micra car and handed a white package containing €85,000 in notes through the lorry’s passenger door.

Det Sgt Sheehan told prosecuting counsel, Mr Remy Farrell BL in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, that gardaí found a total of nine brown drugs packages in the truck's duvets when they intervened as Thompson walked away from the lorry and another man approached the passenger door holding open a navy sportsbag.

He said Aslam told gardaí he held the drugs packages at his family home overnight before transporting them to Ireland in the lorry and that he and the lorry passenger were to split £5,000 (€5,580) when they brought the €85,000 back to the UK.

Det Sgt Sheehan added that the father-of-three, who has a previous drugs conviction, would not name the person who employed him as drugs courier in the north Co Dublin cocaine deal.

Judge Patrick McCartan credited the Garda National Drugs Unit with ensuring the cocaine haul was kept out of "the market" adding that Aslam took "the easy way out" of his financial difficulties by getting involved in the drugs trade.