BRAZILIAN ARTIST ADMITS SMUGGLING COCAINE

A BRAZILIAN woman who tried to smuggle cocaine worth pounds 2.5 million
into Dublin Airport has been remanded in custody for sentence.

Maria Emilia Bilibo (32), a landscape artist, became the first person to
plead guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to importing drugs under the
1999 Criminal Justice Act. An interpreter translated the evidence into
Portuguese.

Prosecution counsel Orla Crowe BL said under the 1999 Criminal Justice Act,
there was a minimum 10-year sentence for anyone convicted of importing
drugs worth over pounds 10,000. Detective Garda Jim O'Driscoll said customs
officials found just under 15kg of cocaine hidden in picture frames
imported from Lima, Peru, on October 8, 1999.

Bilibo was arrested when the picture frames were found in her luggage. She
told him she agreed to import the drugs because she was offered $5,000 with
an additional $1,500 expenses and a free flight. Bilibo was with another
woman when arrested.

Det Gda O'Driscoll said Bilibo claimed she was separated from her husband
and was trying to support her parents and two children.

She told gardai she was in Lima for a few weeks when she met a man called
William at a disco-bar. He asked her out on a date and offered her money to
smuggle contraband to Ireland. He told her he had a house in Ireland and
she could practise her landscape painting there any time she wanted. Det
Gda O'Driscoll agreed with defence counsel Mr Peter Finlay that Bilibo told
gardai that she and a friend had hoped to open a souvenir shop with drug
run money.

She said she did not want to smuggle contraband but William listed the
names and addresses of her immediate family and she felt intimidated.

Det Gda O'Driscoll said he believed Bilibo was truthful with gardai at all
times and had co-operated as best she could. Mr Finlay said there was
extensive qualifications to the Act which applied in Bilibo's case. He said
the Act allowed judges to reduce sentence if the accused had pleaded guilty
and had assisted gardai in their inquiries.

Mr Finlay said Bilibo was the victim of "callous manipulation" at the hands
of others. He said the Criminal Justice Act allowed for deportation of
offenders and asked the court to consider such an option. Ms Crowe said she
needed time to find out if a deportation order would conflict with the
Immigration Act. Judge Dominic Lynch said he was surprised to hear he could
order a deportation under the Criminal Justice Act.

He adjourned sentencing until Wednesday.