‘Tragic’ Woman Gets Seven Years

A South African woman, described by a court as ‘Tragic’, has been given seven years jail for the possession of €80,000 worth of drugs.

Sasha Whitehead, 34, was sentenced in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after being found in possession of drugs in a suitcase by Irish customs and excise officers.

The divorced mother of three who is a legal secretary - with no previous convictions - was described in court as someone in "dire financial circumstances".

Whitehead told the court she had been paid €2,000 to carry “something” in her suitcase and that she didn’t know what it was. However, she later stated she suspected it was drugs.

A Garda witness believed Whitehead was not a player "in any capacity" in the drug industry and she could be categorised as a vulnerable person who was used by others.

Judge Desmond Hogan said that Whitehead’s plea of guilty, her co-operation with the garda investigation, the fact she had never engaged in criminal activity before and evidence that she was unlikely to re-offend meant that there were specific circumstances to allow him to deviate from the minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years.

Although Judge Hogan accepted that Whitehead was at the lowest rung of the ladder he said he must also take into consideration "the devastation brought on this city and country through the availability of drugs".

Whitehead further handed in many testimonies to court including a governor’s report describing Whitehead as being well-motivated in prison and said, not only had she progressed there, but she had helped the other prisoners too.

(DW)