Teenager accused of smuggling nearly £1m worth of drugs from Thailand to Northern Ireland thought luggage contained designer clothes court is told

Stella Doyle-Daly, from Hanover Street in Dublin, was arrested after National Crime Agency officers seized the haul at Belfast City Airport on September 24. Lawyers for the 18-year-old claimed she had been used as an unwitting drug mule.

Daly faces charges of importing and possessing Class B drugs as part of the NCA investigation.

Prosecutors said officers detained her on arrival at the airport and forced open two suitcases. Multiple vacuum-packed consignments of cannabis were discovered inside her luggage.

Weighing nearly 48 kilos, the drugs have an estimated street value of £956,000.

Disinfectant detected in suitcases is believed to have been used to mask the smell of the cannabis, the court heard.

During interviews Doyle-Daly denied packing the suitcases. The teenager told officers she had flown to Thailand earlier in the month to visit a woman who teaches English in Bangkok.

After arriving she met a man known to her from Dublin and stayed for a period of time at his villa, according to her account. Doyle-Daly would not disclose his identity or the location of his Bangkok accommodation.

She said he bought one of the suitcases used to smuggle the cannabis because her own luggage had been damaged, asking her to take it when she returned home to Dublin.

Crown counsel Iryna Kennedy told the court: “She claimed that she was told the case contained counterfeit fake designer clothing and shoes as a present for his family members.She was told that a family member of this male would collect it in a week or so.”

At that stage Doyle-Daly planned to spend the rest of the holiday with her teacher friend. But the man then allegedly booked the defendant onto an earlier flight and brought her back to his villa, saying that her clothes had already been packed in the suitcases.

He gave her 15,000 Thai Baht to cover the taxi fare to the airport and excess baggage fees, investigators were told.

She then flew out of Bangkok, travelling via Doha and Heathrow, London before arriving in Belfast.

Doyle-Daly rejected NCA assertions that she knowingly transported the cannabis, but refused to provide her mobile phone passcode. “She stated this was out of fear and not to frustrate the investigation,” Mrs Kennedy said.

The accused mounted an application for bail amid defence claims she is a vulnerable teenager who had been used by others.

Mr Justice Scoffield observed: “The thrust of (the defence) submissions is that she is a mere unwitting mule.”

Counsel replied: “That is not the view taken by the National Crime Agency, they believe that this applicant is a trusted drug courier.”

Mrs Kennedy added: “She chose not to provide the PIN number for her mobile phone, this is taken as a sign by investigators that she is seeking to conceal the identity of the Dublin male in Bangkok she alleges duped her into transporting cannabis over three international borders.”

Doyle-Daly’s barrister, Sean Devine, described her as a “very fragile” individual due to personal circumstances.

He insisted that any alleged failure to cooperate with the investigation was due to her fear at the potentially “catastrophic” consequences she would face.

“It’s quite clear that this young lady was the fall guy and (regarded as) expendable,” Mr Devine submitted.

Reserving judgment on the teenager’s bid to be released from custody, Mr Justice Scoffield indicated he wanted time to consider a proposed bail address.