A Colombian father of two who tried to smuggle 52 capsules of cocaine hidden in his underwear on a flight from The Netherlands in 2012 has been jailed for eight years and fined €20,000.

Alexander Restrepo Diaz was arrested at the airport in August 2012 on his arrival. A search revealed that he was carrying cocaine with a street value of around €40,000.

Before Madam Justice Edwina Grima, he pleaded guilty to the charges, avoiding a trial by jury.

The court heard that Mr Diaz had been promised €3,000 to deliver the cocaine from Eindhoven to Malta. He had met a man on a beach and been enticed to make some easy money. The accused had visited Malta three times, the first two of which were with his wife and two children

He was enticed to make some easy money by carrying the drugs to Malta

Madam Justice Grima heard how Mr Diaz had travelled to Eindhoven from Malta, where he was handed the drug by two African men. He did not know who his contact in Malta was, except that he was a Colombian national, as he had only been given a meeting time and a place.

Madam Justice Grima noted that the maximum punishment for drug trafficking was a life sentence but the law provided for a reduction in the eventuality of an early admission.

He was jailed for eight years and fined €20,000, which unless paid immediately was automatically converted into an extra year in jail. Moreover, he was ordered to pay €5,142 in expenses related to the appointment of court experts.

Moreover, as is customary in serious drug trafficking convictions, the court also ordered the forfeiture of all his moveable and immovable property.