By Sonya McLean
A Brazilian woman who transported over €65,000 worth of cocaine into Ireland has been jailed for two years.
Cleoviany Pedrosa (26) carried 35 pellets of cocaine in her luggage but also swallowed over 60 pellets of the drug.
She told gardaí that she had initially agreed to transport the drugs because she was under financial pressure but when she tried to change her mind, she was threatened and forced into delivering the drugs.
She was promised €3,000 for her role, and her flights and hotel stay were paid for.
Pedrosa pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to having cocaine for sale or supply on March 16, 2025. She is a mother of six with no previous convictions.
The court heard that Pedrosa was stopped after coming off a flight from São Paulo because custom officers felt she was acting suspiciously. Officers then found 35 pellets of the drug in her suitcase.
She told them that she had also swallowed a number of pellets and she was taken to hospital where she later passed a further 61 pellets of the drug.
Pedrosa told gardaí in a subsequent interview that she was a mother of six. She said was under financial pressure and agreed initially to get involved.
Marc Thompson SC, defending, told Judge Martin Nolan that his client is “completely and utterly remorseful”.
He said “she was on the breadline – and she had six mouths to feed”. He acknowledged that she made a decision as an adult to agree to get involved.
Mr Thompson asked the court to accept that it was “clear from the moment she was caught” that Pedrosa was holding her hands up and pleading guilty to the offence.
Judge Nolan said Pedrosa “succumbed to temptation” because she needed the money.
He accepted her early plea, her co-operation, her admissions and her lack of a criminal record before he jailed her for two years.