Courier who swallowed kilo of cocaine in 100 capsules gets 10 years

A man from the Dominican Republic who admitted to swallowing about one kilo of cocaine packed in 100 capsules was yesterday jailed for 10 years and fined €30,000.

Jose Luis Lugo Del Rosario, 48, pleaded guilty to bringing the drug to Malta from Holland. He was meant to stand trial by jury on Monday, presided over by Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono, but instead decided to plead guilty.

He was arrested when the police found a number of capsules in his hotel room in Sliema in May 2009. They searched the room after receiving confidential information that a foreigner had illegally imported drugs from Holland.

Mr Del Rosario told the police he had swallowed 100 capsules and some of them still remained inside him. The drugs he imported were worth about €72,800.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Galea Debono said Mr Del Rosario's early guilty plea was a genuine one. "This is truly a case of an early guilty plea because not only did Mr Del Rosario plead guilty in the Magistrates' Court but also asked that his case be heard urgently so that he would again plead guilty."

Mr Del Rosario and his defence counsel did not leave the early guilty plea to the very last minute, a decision which was "laudable" because it saved money and human resources, the judge said.

However, the court also had to take note of the considerable damage the drug might have caused had it been sold to the public, especially youths.

Lawyer Roberto Montalto appeared for Mr Del Rosario.