30/10/2012

L'Derry Man In Court Over Cocaine Charge

A L’Derry man has appeared in court over charges of conspiracy to supply £240,000 of cocaine.

The man has been named as 44-year-old James Harkin. He was arrested in Northern Ireland.

The accused was arrested after drugs were found in a car in London. Policed believed the cocaine was destined for Northern Ireland.

But an Enniskillen court was told that the suspect had been been threatened and was in "genuine fear of certain elements".

He was refused an application for a reporting restriction to be implemented to prevent his details from being published.

4kg of cocaine was found in the boot of a BMW on 25 October, Metropolitan Police told the court. An officer estimated the street value of the drugs to be £240,000.

The defendant claims he was in London to buy a car, that he had taken a look at the BMW and a Mercedes but he didn't like them. He told police he then spent the rest of the trip drinking and gambling before flying home.

But Harkin then changed his story and told police he was going to buy the stolen BMW and bring it back to Northern Ireland with new number plates in order to make money.

He admitted to taking a mobile phone with him and then destroying it when he returned to Northern Ireland. Harkin was remanded in custody.

(IT)

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