THE brother of a man held on charges of conspiracy to import illegal drugs was turned down by a judge as a bondsman yesterday.
Mr Josefat Arngrimmson, an Icelandic national living in Dublin, admitted he had two convictions for fraud, one in Britain where he served six months in jail. Judge Brendan Wallace sitting in Clonakilty said he did not accept people with convictions as bondsmen.
Mr Sigurdur Arngrimmson (65), from Iceland with an address in Sweden, is due to appear in Skibbereen District Court on Tuesday.
Mr Arngrimmson is the owner of the 150-foot coaster, the Tia, which gardai, Customs and Naval Service personnel spent four days searching for drugs without finding anything. His solicitor told the court he was willing to sell the vessel, which was valued at £125,000.
Three other crew members who were also arrested and questioned when the Tia was escorted by the Naval Service into Castletownbere in west Cork two weeks ago were released without charge.