Dublin Circuit Criminal Court imposed a sentence of four years and nine months on Liam Roberts, backdated to his arrest in May 2026, noting he had pleaded guilty at a very early stage.[1] Roberts, who is from Chester in England, came forward from the District Court on signed pleas of guilty to importation and possession of cannabis for sale or supply at Dublin Airport on May 19, 2026.[1] Roberts was later arrested and made full admissions to gardaí.[1]
Roberts was stopped coming off a flight from Thailand after a scan of his luggage revealed an anomaly.[1] The drugs were 17.86kg of cannabis with a total street value of €357,200, packaged individually and covered in chilli paste in an attempt to disguise them.[1] When his luggage was searched, Roberts pulled aside his clothing and told officers: “There – that is what you are looking for.”[1]
Roberts had been on holiday in Thailand for a month when an accident led to £10,000 (Stg) in hospital bills.[1] He also could not afford to pay for flights home.[1] He was then asked to transport drugs on the basis that his hospital bills and flight home would be paid for in return.[1] He said he was due to hand over the suitcase to someone outside the airport.[1] He did not know who he was meeting but they had a photograph of him.[1] Judge Martin Nolan said Roberts had been transporting the drugs for some type of reward after being persuaded by others to get involved.[1] Roberts has a number of previous convictions from the UK, including offences for drug dealing.[1]