A teenager accused of smuggling nearly £1m worth of cannabis from Thailand to Northern Ireland was allegedly duped into thinking her luggage contained counterfeit designer clothes, the High Court has heard.
Stella Doyle-Daly, from Hanover Street, Dublin, was arrested after National Crime Agency officers seized the haul at Belfast City Airport on September 24.
Lawyers for the 18-year-old claimed she had been used as an unwitting drug mule.
Daly faces charges of importing and possessing Class B drugs.
Prosecutors said officers detained her on arrival and forced open two suitcases, with multiple vacuum-packed consignments of cannabis discovered inside.
Weighing nearly 48 kilos, the drugs have an estimated street value of £956,000.
Disinfectant detected in suitcases is believed to have been used to mask the smell of the cannabis, the court heard.
During interviews Doyle-Daly denied packing the suitcases and told officers she had flown to Thailand earlier in the month to visit a woman who teaches English in Bangkok.
After arriving she met a man known to her from Dublin and stayed for a period of time at his villa, according to her account.
She would not disclose his identity or location of his Bangkok accommodation.
She said he bought one of the suitcases used to smuggle the cannabis because her own luggage had been damaged.
Crown counsel Iryna Kennedy told the court: “She claimed that she was told the case contained counterfeit fake designer clothing and shoes as a present for his family members.
“She was told that a family member of this male would collect it in a week or so.”
Doyle-Daly planned to spend the rest of the holiday with her teacher friend, but the man allegedly booked the defendant onto an earlier flight with her suitcases packed.
He allegedly gave her 15,000 Thai Baht to cover the taxi fare to the airport and excess baggage fees.
She flew from Bangkok, travelling via Doha and Heathrow, London before arriving in Belfast.
Doyle-Daly rejected NCA assertions she knowingly transported the cannabis, but refused to provide her mobile phone passcode.
The accused mounted an application for bail amid defence claims she is a vulnerable teenager who had been used by others.
Mr Justice Scoffield observed: “The thrust of (the defence) submissions is that she is a mere unwitting mule”.
Counsel replied: “That is not the view taken by the National Crime Agency, they believe that this applicant is a trusted drug courier”.
Doyle-Daly’s barrister, Sean Devine, described her as a “very fragile” adding: “It’s quite clear that this young lady was the fall guy and (regarded as) expendable”.
Reserving judgment on her bid to be released, Mr Justice Scoffield indicated he wanted time to consider a proposed bail address.