A Canadian national who brought almost €600,000 worth of cannabis into Ireland has been jailed for five years.
Shane Romel Bullock (29), of Gibbs Road, Ontario, Toronto, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to importation of 29.8kg of cannabis, worth €597,048 at Dublin Airport on July 28th, 2023.
He has been in custody since his arrest.
Garda Alex Murphy told Antonia Boyle BL, prosecuting, that a sniffer dog with customs identified two suspicious pieces of luggage.
The luggage bore the name and associated flight number of Romel Bullock, and he was taken in for questioning.
He initially denied ownership of both bags but later acknowledged they were his.
Romel Bullock said he did not know what was in the bags and had agreed to take them from Canada with the intention of bringing them to London after stopping over in Dublin.
He said he had been promised €2,000 for his role.
Gda Murphy agreed with Vincent Heneghan SC, defending, that his client was polite and answered all questions put to him.
He accepted that Romel Bullock took “a high risk” carrying bags with that amount of drugs as cannabis is “particularly pungent”.
Mr Heneghan handed in a letter from his client and a booklet of testimonials.
He said his client had learned a great deal since his arrest and had accepted his stupidity.
“He did an awful stupid thing and he is ashamed and remorseful,” Mr Heneghan submitted to the court.
Judge Martin Nolan said Romel Bullock had control of the bags and had been asked to transport them for “a certain reward”.
“He knew there were illicit substances in the luggage or he was at least highly reckless as to the presence of drugs,” the judge said before he accepted that otherwise Romel Bullock has “many good characteristics”.
“He is a mature man who took a risk and the court cannot condone that,” Judge Nolan said before he jailed him for five years, backdated to when he was first remanded in custody last July.
