A man who flew cocaine worth €8.4m into the Republic of Ireland from France has bagged an 11-year jail term.
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| Gilchrist smuggled the drugs using a Cessna aircraft in August 2022. Photo: An Garda Síochána via bbc.com |
56-year old Tim Gilchrist, former company director, from Mavis Bank, Newrath in County Waterford, was nabbed with 120kg of the drug in his car after he landed a Cessna light aircraft at Abbeyshrule Aerodrome in County Longford on 4 August 2022.
Gilchrist, who is a father of one, claimed he used the aircraft for “leisure flying” and had smuggled the drug under duress after two men threatened to harm his daughter.
Judge Keenan Johnson called for significant security upgrades encompassing 24-hour checks, adding, the country has been left exposed to the importation of large quantities of drugs.
