Two men charged over a seizure of €1.6m worth of heroin in Dublin allegedly linked to "a transnational criminal organisation" have been remanded in custody.
Graphic designer, Oliver Etienne, 44, from England, but living in Barcelona, Spain, for ten years and 34-year-old Christian Munoz Sanchez, from Barcelona, were arrested on May 2 during an operation by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB).
They appeared before Judge Aine Clancy at Dublin District Court yesterday/today.
Mr Etienne pleaded for bail on the grounds he came to Ireland on a trip with his co-accused, with whom he had shared a room at the Clayton Hotel in Liffey Valley, Dublin, and he denies the charge.
However, Judge Clancy held he was a flight risk and denied his request.
Mr Sanchez deferred his application to be released pending trial. In seeking bail, he will utilise an EU directive allowing defendants to sign on at police stations in their own countries.
The two men were remanded in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court, Mr Etienne on Wednesday and his co-accused two days later.
GNDOCB detectives Tom McCarrick and Rioghnach O'Sullivan said the pair "made no reply" when charged with possessing heroin and having it for sale or supply at Junction 9 of the M50 on May 2.
The offence can carry a life sentence.
Objecting to bail, Detective Garda McCarrick said that on Friday, GNDOCB officers received confidential information about "a transnational organised crime group involved in drug trafficking".
The court heard it suggested a Spanish national named Christian Munoz Sanchez and others had a large quantity of heroin in west Dublin.
Detective Garda McCarrick told the court that Mr Etienne was stopped at Liffey Terrace, Lucan, County Dublin, and taken to Ballymun Garda station.
The court heard gardai learned his co-accused was travelling in a taxi, which was stopped at the Coolock Slip Road, M1- South, Dublin.
Searching the vehicle led to the recovery of 21 packages of heroin.
The court heard the pair travelled by ferry to Ireland in a car with another man, his mother and their dog, by ferry from Cherbourg and arrived at Dublin Port on April 24.
Garda enquiries and CCTV, were said to have established that Oliver Etienne and his co-accused arrived at the hotel on Thursday, shared a room, checked out at the same time and placed their luggage into secure storage in the hotel.
It was claimed Mr Etienne later went in and collected these bags, including one containing the heroin later found in the taxi with Mr Sanchez.
The court heard that encrypted messages were on Mr Sanchez's phone, but Mr Etienne's phone could not be accessed because he did not provide the correct PIN.
Defence solicitor Kate McGhee disputed garda evidence her client was caught red-handed, describing it as "nonsensical".
The solicitor stressed that her client had no previous convictions or warrant history and would abide by the condition, and he denies knowing what was in the bag.
Judge Clancy held that the gardai had not established that he had been caught red-handed, but she refused bail on the grounds that it was reasonably probable that he would evade justice.
Solicitor Tracey Horan, for Mr Sanchez, said her client, who listened with the aid of an interpreter, would move his bail application on Friday based on the Mutual Recognition of Decisions on Supervision EU directive.
By Tom Tuite
