A Waterford man has been jailed for 11 years for his involvement in smuggling €8.4m worth of cocaine into Ireland in August 2022.
Tim Gilchrist (56), from Mavis Bank, Newrath, County Waterford was arrested on August 4th 2022 after he landed in a light aircraft at the Abbeyshrule Aerodrome in County Longford.
Upon departure, Mr. Gilchrist was discovered with 120kg worth of cocaine in his car.
Mr. Gilchrist told the court that he used the aircraft for leisure, but claimed that he had smuggled the drugs under duress after two men arrived at his door and threatened to harm his daughter.
It was noted in court that there were no customs officers present at the Dieppe Aerodrome from France where Mr. Gilchrist had flown, nor the aerodrome in Longford.
Judge Keenan Johnson said that there should be a significant upgrade in security at airfields around the country with 24-hour checks.
He said the country has been left "unacceptably exposed" to the importation of vast quantities of drugs.
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