The Court of Appeal has upheld a ten-year sentence imposed on Sunny Idah for recruiting undercover Gardaí, whom he believed to be drug couriers, to import cocaine from Brazil into Ireland.
Idah pleaded guilty to soliciting another person to commit an offence involving the importation of cocaine. The offence carried the same potential sentence as the substantive offence, with a maximum prison term of 14 years.
The case arose from a joint Swiss and Irish undercover operation. Gardaí posing as Polish drug mules contacted Idah using a telephone number obtained by Swiss police. Over 23 telephone contacts and three face-to-face meetings, Idah arranged for them to travel to Brazil, ingest cocaine pellets and return to Ireland.
The planned consignment was one kilogram of cocaine with an estimated street value of about €140,000. Each courier was to receive €5,000, together with flights, accommodation details and expense money. They were also given instructions about ingesting the pellets.
The sentencing judge described the scheme as highly planned and sophisticated. Although she did not regard Idah as a senior figure in an international drugs organisation, she found that he had a central role. Idah disputed that characterisation on appeal and argued that the 14-year headline sentence was excessive.
The Court of Appeal rejected those arguments. It held that Idah’s role was critical and could not be described as that of a mere functionary. The court also highlighted the risks to the proposed couriers from carrying cocaine internally and the wider consequences had the drugs reached Ireland.
The judges accepted that the 14-year headline sentence was at the top of the range but held that the subsequent reductions were generous. The final sentence of ten years, with the last 12 months suspended for three years on a €200 bond, was upheld and the appeal dismissed.