A WOMAN accused of bringing £380,000 worth of cannabis into Northern Ireland claims she was scouting locations for a nail salon business venture, the High Court heard yesterday.
Vua Mitchell was among three people arrested after police seized the drugs during an operation in Lisburn, Co Antrim last month.
The 29-year-old, originally from Vietnam and nearly four months pregnant, was granted bail.
Detectives recovered 19 kilos of herbal cannabis after stopping two vehicles at Ferguson Drive on August 22.
Mitchell, of Eleanor Place in Stockton On Tee, Durham, faces charges of possessing Class B drugs with intent to supply and being concerned in their supply.
She claims to have travelled from England seeking sites to open up a nail bar on either side of the border.
According to her account a Vietnamese associate she met in Dublin asked her to take some clothes to someone in Northern Ireland known as "Fatman" - believed to be co-accused George Hamilton.
Mitchell told police she was to be paid €100 for driving north with another woman to make the delivery, insisting she had no idea the consignment contained cannabis.
Prosecution counsel Conor Maguire said CCTV footage showed her opening the boot of a hired Renault car at the Lisburn meeting point.
Hamilton (48) of Ballycraigy Drive in Antrim, was seen loading the bags of drugs into his Transit van before police swooped.
Defence barrister Jonathan Browne rejected concerns his client could flee, arguing that her pregnancy and associated sickness removed the risk.
He described Mitchell as a businesswoman who bought and sold goods online who came to Ireland after sensing a potential gap for nail bars in the market.
Mitchell, who was granted bail with a surety of £6,000, was ordered to live under curfew at an address is Belfast.
