Two men, who pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine worth almost €5 million at a lock-up shed in Co Cork, have each been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Sean O'Donovan, 45, from Ballinakilla, Bartlemy, Co Cork, and German national Richard Deutschenbaur, 56, with an address in Sweden, were sentenced at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
During the trial, O'Donovan told the court he was forced to do what he did because he owed money to a South American businessman.
He said he and Deutschenbaur were involved in a legitimate oil importing business in Peru, but when the world financial crisis hit in 2008, they came under serious financial pressure.
He said they borrowed €100,000 and when they could not repay it, they were forced to take possession of the drug.
Over 68kg of cocaine was seized following a lengthy surveillance operation involving agencies in Ireland and overseas.
The cocaine was hidden in 28 pallets of tinned pineapple, shipped from Bolivia to Rotterdam and then onto Cork.
The two men were in the middle of dismantling the pallets when the raid took place on 13 October 2011.
Both men, who were friends since they met in prison in Holland in 1994, were to be paid €300,000 for their part in the smuggling operation.
Judge Patrick J Moran said the two were caught red-handed.
The offence would carry a mandatory ten-year sentence, however Judge Moran accepted there were exceptional circumstances, including the fact the two embarked on the venture to "save their bacon" because they were under financial duress.
He sentenced them both to eight years in prison and refused an application for leave to appeal by counsel for Deutschenbaur.
