Courts / Dublin / Report
Brazilian drug mules had each ingested 1kg of cocaine
Summary
Two Brazilian drug mules, Felipe Oliviera Gaspar, 30, and Valter Soares, 26, were apprehended at Dublin Airport in separate incidents within weeks of each other, each carrying a kilogram of cocaine in their bodies. Gaspar swallowed 67 pellets and inserted three larger ones rectally; Soares swallowed 120 pellets. The cocaine recovered from Gaspar was valued at just under €70,000, while Soares' was worth €71,000. Gaspar pleaded guilty to possession for sale or supply and to drug importation, had no prior convictions, and was arrested by customs, taken to hospital for eight days of treatment, and later sentenced by Judge Martin Nolan to two years and nine months in prison, backdated to his custody date. Soares pleaded guilty to drug importation, had no prior convictions, and was sentenced to two years and three months, also backdated to his custody date. Both men cited debt to loan sharks and fear of criminal gangs as motives for smuggling the drugs.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Brazilian drug mules had each ingested 1kg of cocaine. Charges or matters: one count of possessing cocaine for sale or supply and one count of importing drugs into the country at Dublin Airport on August 28 last year; one count of drug importation at Dublin Airport on September 8 last year, 12 days after Gaspar. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- August 28 Incident
- September 8 Incident
- 2025-03-07 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: one count of possessing cocaine for sale or supply and one count of importing drugs into the country at Dublin Airport on August 28 last year; one count of drug importation at Dublin Airport on September 8 last year, 12 days after Gaspar (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Defendant
Charges: one count of possessing cocaine for sale or supply and one count of importing drugs into the country at Dublin Airport on August 28 last year; one count of drug importation at Dublin Airport on September 8 last year, 12 days after Gaspar (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Judge Nolan handed down a sentence of two years and three months to Soares, which was also backdated to when he went into custody.
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