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Two men, including a former Soviet fighter pilot, who flew heroin worth €8.4m into Dublin on a light aircraft last year, have been sentenced to 10 and eight years in prison.
Aradi Ignac, aged 50, of Kecskemet, Hungary, and Zoltan Nemeth, aged 63, of Sukosd in Hungary, pleaded guilty to smuggling heroin into Weston Airport on dates between November 28 and December 1 last year.
A further charge against Aradi, of facilitating or enhancing organised crime, was taken into consideration.
In a ruling at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday, Judge Elma Duffy set a headline sentence of 13 years for Aradi, imposing an actual term of 10 years.
Judge Duffy said Aradi was higher up in what she described as a sophisticated operation, as he had been involved in the planning of bringing a planeload of drugs into Ireland on a light aircraft, “effectively by the back door”.
“It’s clear there was a big operation behind this and he was part of this big operation,” said Judge Duffy.
She set a headline sentence of 10 years for Nemeth, a retired army pilot with 25 years of public service, as she said he may not have been involved in planning and had turned “something of a blind eye” as to what was being transported.
Nemeth told gardaí that he was aware that what they were carrying was illegal, but that he thought it was some kind of prohibited earth or metal material used in the making of microchips.
Judge Duffy said it was “particularly tragic” that Nemeth, who put in many years of public service in the former Soviet Union and Hungary, retiring at the level of major, had found himself engaged in illegal activities.
Both accused have been in custody since their arrest last December where they are on 23-hour lock up for their own protection, the court heard.
Detective Sergeant Leo Clayton told Jane Horgan-Jones, prosecuting, that the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau had received confidential information about the scheduled landing of a specific Cessna 210 light aircraft.
The court heard that staff at Weston airport noted that the aircraft piloted by Nemeth appeared to be tail-heavy as it was coming in to land, and that men requested a hangar, which was unusual.
Both men indicated to airport staff that they would be staying for a few days, before they left the airport in a taxi.
Gardaí then found 60kg of suspected diamorphine in blocks inside black bags, hidden in the tail of the aircraft.
The haul was analysed by Forensic Science Ireland as comprising 120 packages of heroin, each weighing approximately half a kilo, with a total estimated street value of €8.4m.
The aircraft and the men were kept under observation for a few days before Nemeth was arrested after he arrived back at Weston Airport intending to fly to a smaller airfield in Celbridge, Co Kildare.
Aradi was arrested when the car he was driving was stopped on Hazelhatch Road in Celbridge.
Nemeth told gardaí he was a qualified pilot and instructor who had served in the Hungarian military between 1979 and 2005.
He said he didn’t know what was in the plane, although he knew the packages were illegal.
Gardaí confiscated the sums of €3,270 found on Aradi and €630 found on Nemeth.
Aradi said he had owned a number of construction companies but had fallen into debt to unnamed, but very dangerous, individuals, to the tune of around €1bn.
Photos of the drugs were found on his mobile phone and he admitted that he was aware he was transporting controlled drugs and that he was the person with the keys for the aircraft.
Aradi said he was to have €200,000 cleared from his debt for transporting the drugs.
The court heard that both men had landed in Weston Airport several times in the two months prior to the offence, travelling either together or with a different pilot, once using the same plane and once using a different plane.
Both Aradi and Nemeth outlined their flight route, giving details of travelling via the Netherlands and France en route to Ireland.
Nemeth has no previous convictions in any jurisdiction.
Aradi has 10 previous convictions, including theft, criminal damage, fraud, obstructing the operation of public interest and smuggling counterfeit goods.
Sgt Clayton agreed with Michael Bowman, defending Aradi, that he had been mannerly with gardaí and had answered all questions, although he had refused to give details on any third parties involved in the operation as he feared for his family’s safety.
“My family is in danger,” Aradi said, apologising for not being able to say to whom he owed money or where he was to deliver the drugs.
Aradi told gardaí he had fallen into debt and had borrowed about €200,00 from a loan shark, but that interest was added to the loan almost every day and he ended up owing a billion.
He said he felt he had been “tested” by doing a few trial runs to Ireland in the months before the delivery, to see if he was someone that could be used to transport a large amount of drugs.
Commenting on the operation behind the offence, Sgt Clayton said: “Drugs go hand-in-hand with money-laundering and hand-in-hand with violence.”
The court heard that Aradi has five children, one of whom died in a car crash two years ago at the age of 21.
He began abusing pain medication and was diagnosed with a brain tumour, although he appears to be in remission.
Fiona Murphy, defending Nemeth, said he had also answered all questions, co-operated with gardaí, and pleaded early.
Counsel said Nemeth had spent a significant portion of his life in public service, initially training as a fighter pilot in the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.
He then worked his way back up in the Hungarian military where he served for 25 years and raised five adult children before an amicable divorce, the court heard.
Nemeth also has a young child with his second wife.
On his retirement from the army, Nemeth worked as an instructor in an aerobatic school.
Letters of reference speaking highly of both accused were handed into court from family members, friends and former employers, including a testimonial for Nemeth from the former president of an aviation association.
The court heard that both men have received four visits from family since they went into custody and that they find being in an Irish prison a very lonely and very isolating experience.
Both have very little English and Nemeth suffers from chronic heart and kidney issues, the court heard.
Judge Duffy directed that Nemeth receive medical assistance for his conditions.
She said he was a man of previous good character and was lower down the ladder in the offence but added that he had brought his piloting skills to bear in this operation.
Both sentences were backdated to December 1 last year, when the men went into custody.