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'Some people in Ireland have an unending appetite for cocaine,' judge notes as cocaine mule jailed
Summary
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Judge Martin Nolan sentenced 27‑year‑old Silmara Onofre to two years' imprisonment for possessing €66,297 worth of cocaine. Onofre, who had an address in Brazil, swallowed 78 pellets weighing 0.949 kg to smuggle the drug into Ireland. She was stopped by customs at Dublin Airport on a flight from Portugal, arrested, and taken to Beaumont Hospital where she passed the pellets under medical supervision. Onofre pleaded guilty and claimed she was manipulated, exploited and financially desperate. The judge described her as a "disposable" drug mule who took a "considerable risk" and noted that some people in Ireland have an "unending appetite for cocaine." The sentence was back‑dated to the day she was taken into custody, 17 April last.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 'Some people in Ireland have an unending appetite for cocaine,' judge notes as cocaine mule jailed. Charges or matters: possessing €66,297 worth of cocaine at Terminal One on April 17 last. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- April 17 Incident
- 2023-01-26 Publication
Why: Photo: Collins) A judge has noted that "some people in Ireland have an unending appetite for cocaine" as he jailed a "disposable" and "desperate" drugs mule who was given medication to swallow almost a kilo of the drug in order to smuggle it into Ireland. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: possessing €66,297 worth of cocaine at Terminal One on April 17 last (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: At her sentence hearing, counsel said Onofre had been "manipulated, exploited and used by other people" when she was financially desperate and struggling. He sentenced Onofre to two years in prison.
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