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Man admits cannabis smuggling plan after teens arrested in Thailand

Iolo CheungBBC Wales, Cardiff Crown Court
Athena Picture Agency Patrick, a man with short red-grey hair and facial stubble, wearing a black t-shirt and looking at the camera with his mouth open.Athena Picture Agency
Patrick O'Driscoll admits conspiring to fraudulently evade a prohibition on the importation of a Class B drug

A man has admitted conspiring to smuggle cannabis after two teenagers were suspected to have been trafficked to Thailand as part of an international drug ring.

The two 17-year-olds were arrested by Thai authorities in June on suspicion of acting as drug couriers, after they were allegedly caught carrying 64kg (141lb) of cannabis "concealed within their suitcases" while trying to travel back to the UK.

Patrick O'Driscoll, 30, pleaded guilty to one drug-related charge and was remanded in custody at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday.

Five other defendants denied charges relating to drug smuggling and conspiring to arrange travel with a view to exploitation, while one did not enter a plea.

Athena Picture Agency Pictures of three men side by side. On the left, a man with brown hair, wearing a grey and white Nike sports t-shirt, holds a water bottle in the air and smiles. In the middle, a man with brown hair and a beard in a grey, pink and blue Nike sports top and navy tracksuit bottoms, smiles at the camera. On the right, a man with curly dark hair in a grey tracksuit, looks down. Athena Picture Agency
Gareth Press (left) and Levi Coomansing (right) denied the charges against them, while Tremaine Jeanne (middle) will be arraigned at a later date

O'Driscoll, of Caerau, Cardiff, admitted to conspiring to fraudulently evade a prohibition on the importation of a Class B drug.

He will be arraigned on four counts of conspiracy to traffic and a count of firearms possession at a later date, at the request of his solicitor.

Charges against Tremaine Jeanne, 28, of Llanrumney, Cardiff, will also be dealt with later.

Levi Coomansing, 20, of Butetown, Cardiff and Gareth Press, 42, of Ely, Cardiff, both pleaded not guilty to five counts, including one of conspiring to fraudulently evade a prohibition on the importation of a Class B drug.

Both also pleaded not guilty to four counts of conspiring to arrange the travel of another with a view to exploitation, which included two 17-year-olds and an 18-year-old.

Athena Picture Agency Pictures of three women side by side. On the left, a woman with long brown hair, wearing a beige long skirt and white t-shirt, with a beige jacket draped over her head, hides her face. In the middle, a woman with long dark hair, wearing a black t-shirt and black long-sleeve sports jacket, partly shields her face with one hand. On the right, a woman with long dark hair, wearing a long black puffer coat, holds a blue umbrella and smiles as she looks at the camera.Athena Picture Agency
(L-R) Carrie-Anne Dreyer, Jessica Sani and Ffion Bowes-Cavanagh Hooley have all denied conspiring to smuggle cannabis

In a separate hearing, Jessica Sani, 28, of Alway, Newport, Ffion Bowes-Cavanagh Hooley, 24, of Caerau, Cardiff, and Carrie-Anne Dreyer, 39, of Boverton, Llantwit Major, also pleaded not guilty to conspiring to smuggle cannabis.

Dreyer also denied four charges relating to conspiring to arrange the travel of another with a view to exploitation, while an application was made to dismiss the same charges relating to Sani.

Hooley was granted an extension to her conditional bail, while a bail application for Sani was refused by Judge Daniel Williams.

O'Driscoll, Jeanne, Coomansing, Press and Dreyer have all been remanded in custody, with a trial date set for 8 March 2027.

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