Dutch woman jailed for smuggling cocaine into Ireland

By Jessica Magee

A woman has been jailed after she admitted smuggling over €26,000 worth of cocaine inside her body and in her luggage into Dublin Airport last year.

Chestin Hoogenboom (37), from the Netherlands, was stopped by customs officials at Terminal One after an X-ray showed up an anomaly in her luggage, which contained €12,000 worth of cocaine.

After questioning by gardaí, she was taken to Beaumont Hospital where she removed a further quantity of approximately €14,000 worth of cocaine from inside her body.

Hoogenboom, a Dutch national, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to possession of drugs for sale or supply at Dublin Airport on November 9 last year.

Passing sentence on Thursday at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Martin Nolan said it was clear that Hoogenboom was at the lowest end of the ladder of this drug operation.

Judge Nolan said the only logical explanation was that Hoogenboom was transporting drugs to a third party.

He described the offence as an “ill-organised affair”, noting that Hoogenboom had been planning to take the drugs to an almost abandoned property in a “dilapidated” part of Dublin city.

Judge Nolan said Hoogenboom was unlikely to reoffend and has no record of conviction in this jurisdiction or abroad.

He backdated the sentence to November 9 last year, when Hoogenboom went into custody.

Garda Peter Elliot told Michael Hourigan BL, prosecuting, that the pellets of cocaine found in Hoogenboom’s luggage were swabbed and tested positive for traces of ketamine.

The total weight of cocaine removed from Hoogenboom’s luggage and from her person was 0.38 of a kilogram, the court heard.

Hoogenboom cooperated with gardaí, made full admissions and submitted an early guilty plea.

Gda Elliot agreed with Michael Lynn SC, defending, said he did not believe Hoogenboom was going to be substantially rewarded for her role in the operation.

Mr Lynn said Hoogenboom grew up in Rotterdam and had a very difficult childhood.

She has two teenage children who are in the custody of a friend and she visited them regularly, the court heard.

Hoogenboom suffers from mental health issues and is currently on anti-psychotic medication, counsel said.

Mr Lynn said his client had written a letter of apology showing genuine contrition and that she was making the best of her time in custody and facing up to what she had done.

The court heard that Hoogenboom is studying law and judicial decision-making, to which Judge Nolan remarked he could do such a course himself, and that some might say perhaps he should.

Judge Nolan said it will be difficult for Hoogenboom to serve her sentence in a foreign prison where she is missing her children.