A former British soldier who acted as a courier for a London-based Irish drug dealer has been jailed for 10 years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for his role in a heroin operation.
Spencer Byrne (33), originally from Coventry, was found guilty of having heroin valued at £400,000 with intent to supply.
Byrne and another criminal, Terry Healy, were caught with the heroin when gardai raided the Aston Hotel in Dublin on April 14th, 2000. Healy, who was Irish-born but lived in London, died while on remand.
Byrne claimed that Healy forced him to carry the drugs to repay a debt and had threatened to kill a member of his family.
Mr Dominic McGinn, prosecuting, suggested that Byrne was not under duress when he took part in the drugs run.
Judge Dominic Lynch said he had taken Byrne's background into account and the influence exerted on him by Healy, but drugs had an evil effect on society.