Two admit role in €650m cocaine smuggling
Two English men were remanded in continuing custody for sentencing on May 8 after they pleaded guilty to a charge of having drugs for sale or supply – arising out of the €500m cocaine seizure off the West Cork last November.
Philip Doo (aged 52), of Brixham, Devon, and Christopher Wiggins (aged 42) of Estepona, Malaga, Spain, were arraigned yesterday on the opening day of the county sessions of Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
The same charge was put to each man by court registrar, Martin O’Donovan, and they both replied, “Guilty”.
The charge was brought under 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act and the Criminal Justice (Illicit Traffic at Sea) Act, which stated in its particulars that on November 5, 2008 on the ship, Dances with Waves, a ship not registered in any country or territory, they did have in their possession a controlled drug, cocaine, for the purpose of selling or supplying to another when the drugs in their possession had an aggregate market value f €13,000 or more.
The significance of €13,000 is that it represents threshold figure for mandatory sentencing on conviction, where the minimum is ten years and up to life imprisonment. The minimum period can be reduced where the sentencing judge finds that there are exceptional circumstances.
No defence applications were made for background reports on the two defendants in advance of sentencing.
Judge Patrick J. Moran remanded the two men in custody for sentencing on May 8.
Previously, the accused had been charged with a different category of offence, namely that on the ship on the date in question they had possession of cocaine knowing it was intended to be imported contrary to the law of any state outside the State, contrary to Section 34 (2) & (4) of the Criminal Justice Drugs Trafficking Act 1994. It is anticipated that this charge will be struck out once they are sentencing on the charge to which they pleaded guilty yesterday.
So far, none of the facts of the case have been given in court.
