Greek pizza delivery man ‘shocked’ to discover he had brought €276,000 worth of cannabis into the country

A man who thought he was bringing tax documents into the country was shocked when he was told his luggage contained more than €276,000 worth of cannabis, a court has heard.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Georgious Nikolas (46) thought he was carrying documents intended to be used by a company to gain a tax advantage and was shocked, angry and upset when he was told that the luggage contained more than 13.8 kg of cannabis, worth around €276,000.

Investigating police told Oisin Clarke BL, prosecuting, that customs officers at Dublin Airport arrested Nikolas on October 19 last year because he was acting suspiciously.

They searched his luggage and found the drugs. Nikolas made admissions to customs officials and later to gardai during the interview.

Nikolas, whose address in Greece is unknown, pleaded guilty to importing cannabis. He has no previous convictions here or in any other jurisdiction.

He told Gardai he wanted to earn extra money to pay for his son’s education and was approached by someone he knew and offered €500.

The Garda agreed with Michael Bowman SC, defending, that Nikolas had fully co-operated and provided material assistance to the investigation.

Nikolas had worked as a chiropractor, but lost his job. He was working as a pizza delivery driver in Athens when an acquaintance offered to help him earn extra money by bringing tax documents to Ireland for a company, which would then receive a tax benefit.

The Garda said the €500 offered to Nikolas for his role was unusually low. She further accepted Mr Bowman’s suggestion that Nikolas knew what he was doing was not “kosher”, but did not know he was transporting drugs.

It was further recognized that Nikolas had a long professional background and was not involved in crime in any way. Nikolas is a devoted father who lived “hand to mouth” while working as a pizza delivery driver, with everything else going towards his son’s education.

He appeared in court while his client was “naive and reckless”, he “genuinely shocked” by the contents of the bag. Mr Bowman also noted that the investigating garda had fully accepted his client’s account.

Nikolas is a Greek national, has no connection with this jurisdiction and has not received any visitors since his incarceration. Mr Bowman said his client had not attempted to “thwart” the criminal proceedings and had done everything possible to cooperate.

A number of references were submitted to the court, along with a report from the governor. Nikolas is an enhanced prisoner who works and engages in study while in prison.

Judge Dara Hayes noted that Nikolas thought he was transporting documents for a “not entirely proper tax scheme” and was upset when he was told it was actually drugs.

The judge said the Garda accepted that Nikolas did not know he was transporting drugs and, in the court’s experience, this is “not a concession made lightly or easily by the prosecuting Garda” .

He added that Nikolas’ account had also been found plausible by Gardai.

Judge Hayes said the prosecution accepted that €500 was an “unusually small reward” for introducing a “significant” quantity of drugs and that Nikolas’ actions were naive and reckless.

The judge said the quantity of the drug is an aggravating factor, highlighting the impact of drugs on society and communities across the country.

He said mitigating factors include Nikolas’ personal circumstances, his early guilty plea and the level of co-operation with Gardai.

Judge Hayes imposed a two-and-a-half year sentence backdated to October 19 last year, when Nikolas was taken into custody.

The judge said he would suspend the final 18 months of the sentence in light of Nikolas’ personal circumstances, lack of previous convictions and the difficulties a foreign national may face in custody.