A German-born chef who imported cannabis worth nearly €32,000 from South Africa has been jailed for four years by Judge Michael White at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
William Baumgartner (50), from Burha, Eastgate, Johannesburg, South Africa, pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of drugs on February 22, 2002.
The court heard that Baumgartner was a diabetic who was born in Germany but had lived in South Africa for 21 years and held a South African passport.
Garda Dominic McGrath told Mr Des Zaidan BL, prosecuting, that the accused was stopped by customs officials at Dublin Airport after getting off a plane from Johannesburg, via Paris.
A search of his luggage revealed a number of taped wrapped packages which contained cannabis herb. Customs officers believed there to be 20 kilos of the drug but subsequent analysis found there to be 12.5 kilos.
Baumgartner was arrested and conveyed to Santry garda station where he told gardai that the bag was his but he knew nothing about it's contents.
He explained that he had been married to a South African for seven years and worked as a chef in a number of sophisticated hotels in Durban.
Judge White said that Baumgartner had pleaded guilty to a very serious offence which the legislature had prescribed a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a minimum sentence of ten years unless exceptional and specific circumstances applied to thecase.
"I am satisfied that such circumstances do exist in this case, like his guilty plea, the material assistance he gave to gardai and the fact that he has never been in the trouble with the law before," he said.