Man jailed for smuggling cannabis into Ireland, believing they were bird nests

By Sonya McLean

A man who thought he was being paid to transport edible bird nests to Ireland has been jailed for three years after custom officers found over €280,000 worth of cannabis in his suitcase.

Cheong Sik Hong (38) of Kampung, Paya Bemban, Malaysia, came forward to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on signed pleas of guilty from the District Court. He admitted possession of 14kg of cannabis, worth an estimated €281,000, for sale or supply at Dublin Airport on July 7, 2024. He has no previous convictions.

Garda Jamie Connor told Derek Cooney BL, prosecuting, that a customs dog indicated interest in Hong’s suitcase. Hong was stopped and questioned about his luggage.

He said it was his friend’s bag and he had not packed it himself. He said he had no way of unlocking the luggage. It was forced open and a number of vacuum sealed bags of a green plant-like material was discovered.

Gda Connor confirmed that during a follow-up interview, Hong said his flight had been organised for him and he had been told he would be staying in Ireland for seven days. He was told he would get a phone call with further instructions once he arrived in Dublin.

Hong said he’d picked up the suitcase from a hotel parking lot in Bangkok before he boarded his flight to Dublin.

He later told gardaí he had found a job online that required people to transport edible bird nests to the UK and Ireland. He said he agreed to do the job and was expecting to be paid for his role as “a runner”. He considered the job was “very safe”.

Gda Connor told Mr Cooney that Hong told gardaí he was handed €600 in cash, the flights were arranged for him and he was told edible bird nests would be in the suitcase.

Gda Connor agreed with Dominic McGinn SC, defending, that other drug couriers have given gardaí similar explanations and gardaí accept that Hong gave a true account of his involvement.

He further accepted that analysis of Hong’s phone and messages found on that also “endorsed” his explanation to gardaí.

Gda Connor said he was aware that Hong had two young children at home and his five-year-old son had significant medical difficulties.

Mr McGinn asked the court to accept that his client’s involvement was at the lower end of the scale. He has been in custody since his arrest at the airport.

Judge Martin Nolan said Hong had carried these drugs on the basis of a promise of money and he was “reckless in his behaviour”.

He acknowledged that he pleaded guilty at an early stage, has no previous convictions and co-operated with the garda investigation. He jailed him for three years.