Irishman allegedly tried to steal €200k of drugs he found floating in sea near Santa Ponsa
A pre-trial indictment drafted after the 24-year-old was charged accused him of wading into the water to pick up a 31 kilo bundle
PUBLIC prosecutors have demanded a four-and-a-half year jail sentence for an Irishman who allegedly tried to steal more than €200,000 of cannabis he found floating in the sea off a Majorcan beach.
A pre-trial indictment drafted after the 24-year-old was charged accused him of wading into the water to pick up a 31 kilo bundle of hash "with the intention of selling the drugs."
He was arrested just after 3pm on October 24 2023 along with a second Spanish suspect aged 25 at a beach called Cala Blanca near the popular holiday resort of Santa Ponsa.
Santa Ponsa. Photo: Getty
News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday June 10
A security guard called police when he spotted them leaving the sea with the bale of cannabis, with Barcelona Football Club initials stamped on it, after it was abandoned by traffickers during a failed drug drop in a storm.
Cops found them soaking wet and sitting near a Volkswagen Golf with the same package hidden behind it after following a trail of blue raffia from the cannabis bale.
Spanish prosecutors, who valued the drugs at €211,967 in a three-page indictment, flagged up how the blundering alleged thieves had lost the keys to the car as they tried to 'flee the scene' with the drugs.
The suspects have been on bail for the past near two years since their arrests and appearance before an investigate magistrate who decided there was enough evidence to charge them with a drugs offence following a lengthy behind-closed-doors criminal probe.
Police had been placed on alert around the time they were held after drugs washed ashore in the Majorcan municipalities of Calvia and Andratx.
Officers were pictured at the time recovering a blue bale of cannabis with the initials FCB - Futbol Club Barcelona - stamped on it in black which appeared near the Brismar Hotel in Port Andratx.
Subsequent local reports said 19 bales had been recovered in just three days between October 21 and 24 2023.
Some holiday beaches were briefly cordoned off after the drugs washed ashore.
The cannabis resin finds were linked to a failed attempt to smuggle the drugs into one of the Balearic Islands during a storm.
As well as a lengthy prison sentence if they are convicted, public prosecutors are also seeking fines of €840,000 for each man.
It was not immediately clear this morning if the Irish national lives in Majorca or was holidaying in the area at the time, and when he will go on trial.
In October 2020 Spanish police seized an estimated £14 million of drugs thanks to Storm Barbara.
Nearly 90 bales of cannabis resin weighing three tons washed up on Isla Canela beach near Ayamonte close to Spain's south-west border with Portugal.
Police had to use several vehicles to move them.
A high-speed boat that had run aground and is thought to have been employed by the unlucky drugs smugglers was also seized so forensic experts could go over it for clues.
A number of young Brits including several women have been arrested in the last few weeks and accused of trying to smuggle drugs in different parts of the world.
A glamorous British OnlyFans model is languishing in prison near Barcelona after being caught trying to smuggle nearly £200,000 worth of drugs into Spain.
Clara Wilson, from Huthwaite, Notts, has been charged with a drug running offence after more than 34 kilos of cannabis were found in her suitcase at the Catalan capital's El Prat airport.
And the pretty 36-year-old has been warned she faces being caged for up to four years and ordered to pay more than £750,000 in fines if convicted.
Clara was held as she got off a Qatar Airways flight from Doha on January 20 although she is thought to have travelled to Barcelona from Bangkok with stopovers in India and Qatar.
She was remanded to prison two days after her arrest and has been held there ever since as part of her pre-trial detention.
British OAP William Eastman, 79, is currently languishing in a Chilean prison after being arrested at Santiago International Airport with five kilos of methamphetamine worth an estimated £200,000.
A 23-year-old British woman in Ghana was arrested last month after being accused of attempting to bring up to 18kg of cannabis into the UK on a May 18 British Airways flight to Gatwick.
Bella May Culley, 18, sparked a massive international search operation in early May after she was reported missing while she was believed to be holidaying in Thailand.
However, it was later revealed that the teen, from Billingham, County Durham, had been arrested 4,000 miles away on drug offences in Georgia, allegedly carrying 30 pounds (14kg) of cannabis into the ex-Soviet nation.
And recently 21-year-old Charlotte Lee May, from Coulsdon, south London, was arrested in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo after police discovered 46 kg of 'Kush' - a synthetic strain of cannabis - in her suitcase.
The former flight attendant, facing up to 25 years in prison if convicted, is claiming she had 'no idea' about the drugs worth up to £1.2 million and insisting they must have been planted in her luggage without her knowledge.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Extra.ie
an hour ago
- Extra.ie
Mistrial declared in the case of Dublin firefighter accused of rape in Boston
The rape trial involving Irish firefighter Terence Crosbie's in Boston was declared a mistrial this week, after the jury failed to come to a unanimous decision. Mr Crosbie was visiting Boston with the Dublin Fire Brigade to take part in the 2024 St Patrick's Day parade and is alleged to have raped a 29-year-old lawyer while his colleague slept in the same hotel room. He had pleaded not guilty. On Friday afternoon at Suffolk Superior Court, following a lengthy deliberation, the jury sent a note to the judge saying it was deadlocked. The rape trial involving Irish firefighter Terence Crosbie's in Boston was declared a mistrial this week, after the jury failed to come to a unanimous decision. Superior Court Judge Sarah Weyland Ellis then issued a special legal instruction aimed at producing a verdict before ultimately declaring it a mistrial. Having been deliberating since Monday, the judge deemed it 'a good time in the day' to issue the Tuey-Rodriguez charge. During Thursday's proceedings, the court heard how the DNA of the Dublin firefighter was not conclusively identified on the woman he was accused of raping. Mr Crosbie was visiting Boston with the Dublin Fire Brigade to take part in the 2024 St Patrick's Day parade and is alleged to have raped a 29-year-old lawyer while his colleague slept in the same hotel room. He had pleaded not guilty. Pic: Omni Parker House Two DNA experts took to the stand on the fourth day of the rape trial stating that the 39-year-old's genetic material was not found on his alleged victim when she went to hospital, according to reports in the Boston Globe. 'Your testing did not identify Terence Crosbie on the genital swab?' defence attorney Patrick Garrity asked an expert on DNA analysis, the Boston Globe said. The DNA analyst replied: 'It did not identify that individual on the genital swab, correct.' On Friday afternoon at Suffolk Superior Court, following a lengthy deliberation, the jury sent a note to the judge saying it was deadlocked. The analyst, Alexis DeCesaris, testified that while DNA from two males was found in the woman's genital swab, the amount was too small to compare to a person's genetic profile. During her testimony, the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, stated that she had met Mr Crosbie's fellow firefighter Liam O'Brien at an Irish bar on March 14, 2024. She alleged that after returning to Mr O'Brien's hotel room at the Omni Parker House hotel she had consensual sex with Mr O'Brien. She stated this week to the jury of nine men and six women that she went to the other bed in the room because of Mr O'Brien's loud snoring and got under the covers naked, unaware that he was sharing the room with Mr Crosbie, who was not present at the time. 'I woke up, and a guy was inside of me,' the woman testified, tears streaming down her face as she read a text message she sent to a friend shortly after the alleged attack. The woman stated that she believed it was not Mr O'Brien because he was bald and the person on top of her was not. She later attended Massachusetts General Hospital in the early hours of the next morning. A nurse who treated the woman and completed an 'evidence collection kit,' as well as a doctor involved in the treatment, testified to a 'tear' in the woman's vaginal area, but said that it was possible that this could have happened as a result of consensual sex, the Globe reported.
Sunday World
2 hours ago
- Sunday World
Dad with 53 convictions jailed for sexually exploiting girl he used to babysit
In her victim impact statement the young woman said her life spiralled after the abuse. A 49-year-old Laois father has been jailed for two years for defilement and sexual exploitation of a child he used to babysit. The man, who is Irish heritage but was born in the UK before moving to Ireland as a child, pleaded guilty to defilement of the 15-year-old girl and obtaining a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation in Co Laois, on dates in 2021. The man, who cannot be identified to protect the anonymity of his victim, was sentenced to two years after appearing in Portlaoise Circuit Court this week. The court heard he had 53 previous convictions for offences including indecency, animal welfare offences, public order offences, indecent communication, breaches of barring orders and road traffic offences. He sat with his head bowed in court as the victim and her family members looked on during his sentencing hearing on Thursday. In her victim impact statement the young woman said her life spiralled after the abuse. 'I was having thoughts that I wanted to take my own life. I couldn't concentrate in school and was thinking about suicide.' She said she started skipping school and running away from home in the aftermath. 'My family did everything they could to get me the help I needed.' She said she got counselling but some days would battle to get to sleep at night. I kept getting nightmares thinking about it. I still think about it. I will never forget what happened.' Detective Garda Ray Dermody told Judge told Judge Keenan Johnson that the girls father reported her missing on November 11 2021 and spoke to gardai again the following day to say he believed she was at the man's house where they later found her. Days later she revealed to gardai that the man had sex with her in the house while she was there and had also digitally penetrated her on another occasion earlier that month. The man was a brother of an ex-girlfriend of the victim's father and the court heard the man previously babysat her and had been chatting to her online and by phone with the conversations turning sexual and very intense. He called her at 6.30am on November 2, 2021 but she missed the call and called him back. The court heard he told her to come out to his house and she initially said she didn't know if she would because she had to go to school. However, he convinced her to ditch school to go to his home. When she arrived he stripped down to his underwear and told her to take her clothes off. He kissed her and took off her underwear before digitally penetrating her. The court heard the girl felt confused after what happened and ended things by saying she needed to go to bathroom. She stayed in his house overnight before going home. On November 11 the man messaged the girl saying he missed her very much and she went over to his home. They went to the bedroom and got undressed before he kissed her and had sex with her. The girl made a complaint to gardai in the days after she was found at the man's home. He initially denied any sexual activity had taken place and said he saw himself as a 'sort of mentor' figure , an 'agony aunt' and a comforting shoulder but 'no more' than that. However, he later came clean and admitted everything. The court heard the man was previously married and had a number of children. He moved to Ireland when he was a child to stay with family here and in his adult life had sporadic work as a painter and gas fitter. In mitigation his defence counsel said the girl wasn't abducted by the man but accepted that society cannot condone his behaviour. Judge Johnson said the man actively initiated sexual contact with a girl who was 'clearly very vulnerable' and described the two offences as 'abhorrent.' He commended the young woman for coming forward and sentenced the man to two years imprisonment.
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Louth delivery driver was on bail when cocaine found in his underwear
Nahid Duffy, Dowdalls Crescent, Newry Road, Dundalk, was before the circuit court for sentencing after pleading guilty to possession of 26.9g of cocaine for sale or supply. Further charges of possession of cocaine and possession of 'magic mushrooms' are being taken into consideration. The defendant, who has one previous conviction for possession of drugs, was a front seat passenger in a car followed and stopped by Gardaí. It was stated that he got involved in drug dealing to feed his own cocaine habit. Gda Daniel O'Connor testified that at 12.25am on April 5, 2021, he was observer in an unmarked car when he spotted a Ford Focus driving erratically after it exited Mourne View on the Dublin Road. This car was stopped at McSwiney Street. It contained the driver, Mr Duffy and a third person in the back. Gda O'Connor said he spoke to the defendant who appeared nervous. The car and its occupants were searched. Mr Duffy took responsibility for a bag of 'magic mushrooms' and for €825 cash which was in the centre console. Following his arrest and during a search at the garda station, cocaine was found down the accused's trousers in his underwear. The drugs were valued €1,883, and the 'magic mushrooms' €110. ADVERTISEMENT He told investigators that he used the mushrooms for anxiety. He also admitted using cannabis and CBD. He said the cash was his and admitted having the drugs for sale to fund a cocaine addiction. There was one previous conviction for Section 3 possession of drugs for which a €150 fine was imposed in the district court. For this case the DPP had directed summary disposal on a guilty plea only and the district court accepted jurisdiction. Mr Duffy initially pleaded 'not guilty'. A booklet of mitigation was handed into court on behalf of the defendant. Barrister Stephen Faulkner, instructed by solicitor Ciarán Mulholland, said that Nahid Duffy was of Bangladeshi/Irish descent and had suffered racist bullying in school. He had no trappings of wealth. The money was to feed his addiction. Judge Dara Hayes said that given Mr Duffy's age he would adjourn sentencing to November 11 for a probation report. The judge said it was a serious offence committed while on bail. Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
