‘dodgy’ | 

Woman who arrived in Dublin Airport from Canada with cannabis worth €250k in her suitcase jailed

Mawien told gardaí she was homeless at the time and needed money for her six-year-old son

Today at 17:09

A woman who arrived in Dublin airport from Canada with over 12.5 kilos of cannabis worth €250,000 in her suitcase has been jailed for four years.

Akuac Mawien (26) was homeless in Toronto at the time of the offence in September 2023 and agreed to fly to Ireland with the cannabis in exchange for a payment of €3,000, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today.

When she arrived in Dublin Airport on September 15, customs officials noticed Mawien was acting suspiciously and her suitcase was x-rayed as a result. A total of 12.5 kilos of cannabis was discovered in her suitcase.

Mawien, of no fixed abode in Toronto, affirmed her guilty pleas to a number of charges from the District Court, including importing cannabis and possessing cannabis for sale or supply at Dublin Airport on September 15, 2023

Jane Murphy BL, prosecuting, told the court that Mawien told gardaí she was homeless at the time and needed money for her six-year-old son. She said she agreed to bring the suitcase to Ireland and was expecting to be paid around €3,000 for doing so.

She said she knew there was something “dodgy” in the suitcase, but did not know to what extent.

She said she was told to go to a hotel and check in before meeting the person she was to hand the suitcase over to. She told gardaí she didn’t know who these people were.

Mawien has a number of minor convictions in Canada, including larceny and theft.

Garnet Orange SC, defending, said Mawien was born in Sudan and moved to Canada when she was three years old.

At the time of the offence, she was living on the margins of society, braiding hair and doing occasional catering. She had lost her homeless accommodation and her son was living with her aunt. She had alcohol issues.

Mr Orange submitted his client would have a harder time in prison as a non-national. She has no connection with Ireland at all and desperately misses her son, he said.

Sentencing Mawien, Judge Martin Nolan noted that she was impoverished and going through a difficult time when she carried out the offence. He accepted she had cooperated with gardaí and was unlikely to offend in this jurisdiction again.

Judge Nolan initially jailed Mawien for four and a half years, but he reduced this to four years following a further plea from defence counsel