A delivery driver carrying food, bottled water and €1 million worth of cannabis in his van has been jailed for five and a half years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Daljeet Singh (52) of Oldbury, West Midlands, United Kingdom was stopped by customs officers during a routine search in Dublin Port earlier this year.
He told customs officers he was taking a consignment of foodstuffs and water to Cork.
Singh later pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis herb for sale or supply on April 3rd, 2021 at Dublin Port, having arrived by ferry from Holyhead.
Passing sentence on Wednesday, Judge Orla Crowe set a headline sentence of nine years and said Singh had been “caught red-handed".
Judge Crowe imposed an actual sentence of six years after considering Singh’s mitigation, suspending the final six months and backdating it to April 3rd.
At a previous hearing, Garda Stephen Flynn told Patrick McCullough BL, prosecuting, said Singh told customs officers that he hadn’t packed the van himself or looked in it.
Officials checked the back of the van and found 50 bags of cannabis herb concealed in brown cardboard boxes, with an overall weight of 55kg and an estimated street value of approximately €1 million.
Singh was taken to Store Street Garda Station where he was interviewed seven times.
During the first five interviews, Singh maintained he was contracted to deliver groceries to an address in Cork.
During the sixth interview, gardaí obtained a photo from Singh’s mobile phone taken from inside the van, and he accepted that he had known he was transporting cannabis.
However, he said he thought it was just one bag of cannabis, not 50 bags.
Singh said he was to be paid £1,000 sterling, which he was going to use to clear an overdraft.
He told gardaí he had been subject to a certain amount of pressure from third parties, but he didn’t elaborate on this.
Singh has no previous convictions and lives with his elderly parents in the UK, the court heard.
He has five daughters and a number of grandchildren.
Gda Flynn agreed with Garnet Orange SC, defending, that Singh had issues with alcohol and gambling which had precipitated his divorce and financial difficulties.
The prosecuting Garda also agreed that Singh had been susceptible to pressure from more sinister aspects of the community to carry a load of drugs over to Ireland.
Mr Orange said, although his client was initially in denial, he ultimately made full admissions and came forward on signed early pleas of guilty.
Counsel said Singh has been in custody since his arrest in April and that prison is necessarily more difficult for him, as he has no connections to this country.
Singh had made a “catastrophic mistake”, counsel said.
