A man was fined £800 at Ennis District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to possessing 40 kilos of the hallucinatory drug, khat, with intent to supply, at Shannon Airport while in transit to the US last Thursday.
The court was told that Martin Dowling (44), of St Paul's, Bristol, was detained at Shannon Airport after two suitcases of khat, with an estimated value of $16,000, were discovered by customs officials. Khat is a plant-like substance outlawed in Ireland since 1990 and in the US since 1991, but legal in Britain.
Dowling's solicitor, Mr John Casey, told the court that his client did not think his actions amounted to drug trafficking but were merely in breach of US agricultural regulations.