Cannabis conspiracy trio jailed for 13 years

Wednesday 18 March 2020

A trio who plotted together to bring up to £300,000 worth of cannabis into the island have been sentenced to over 13 years between them, and now face deportation.

Diego Dueñas-Rodrigues (60), Paul Chereches (36) and Vlad Craciun (29) all appeared in the Royal Court yesterday to be sentenced for their individual roles in the conspiracy.

The plan involved Rodrigues, accompanied and overseen by Chereches, bringing the drugs to Jersey where they would be handed to Craciun to supply to the local market.

Appearing for the prosecution, Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit explained that “the conspiracy broadly spanned from April to June 2019” and consisted of “two separate importations of herbal cannabis on 13 April and 1 May” last year.

Pictured: The case was heard by the Royal Court.

The Court heard that each of the defendants played a different role within the conspiracy.  

First of all, Rodrigues – charged with the conspiracy to import cannabis and importing a small amount of cocaine for his own use – was tasked with bringing the drugs over to the island. Acting as a “courier”, it was Rodrigues’s arrival in the island from the ferry from St. Malo that alerted authorities to the drugs haul. 

The prosecutor told the Court that Customs Officers stopped the 60-year-old Spanish national and asked him about his travel to Jersey. Rodrigues denied carrying anything on behalf of anyone else, or that he had any drugs or medication on him. 

However, when his suitcase was examined, it “was found to contain ten plastic wrapped packages containing green herbal material”. The packages contained around 7kg of herbal cannabis. 

Pictured: The cannabis that was found in Rodrigues's suitcase (Customs and Immigration).

A wrap containing a small amount of cocaine was also found on him.

After he was arrested, the information on his mobile phone was analysed which showed he had been in touch with “numerous contacts who assisted [him], gave him instructions, or accompanied him during his journey from Spain to Jersey” both on the occasion he was arrested and on an earlier journey in April. 

It was established that Chereches was one such individual who accompanied Rodrigues on the ferry to Jersey.

The Crown Advocate told the Court that Rodrigues was captured on CCTV arriving in the island and “carrying a suitcase,” but “when he left the island through the airport two days later, he was no longer in possession of the suitcase.”

The Court was told that Rodrigues carried out these importations whilst on bail for a separate drugs offence in his home country. 

For his involvement in the conspiracy, the Crown invited the Court to impose a sentence of four years’ imprisonment.

On behalf of Rodrigues, Advocate Rebecca Morley-Kirk urged that her client “was a courier” and he was “the least involved of the three” co-defendants. 

The defence lawyer explained that Rodrigues was in debt to a loan shark and he was promised that it would be cancelled if he carried out these importations.

She said that her client was “left in no uncertain terms that he must carry out this importation as a courier or else”.

Pictured: Rodrigues brought the drugs in a suitcase through the ferry terminal.

The prosecutor said that Chereches had a “greater involvement” than Rodrigues in the importation and he was tasked with “overseeing” the operation and “report[ing] any problems if they arose”.

Chereches was charged with conspiracy to import and supply cannabis as well as entering into a money laundering arrangement due to his handling of criminal cash relating to the importation. 

Representing Chereches, Advocate Julia-Anne Dix said that her client “was asked as a favour to a friend to oversee the importation” and “foolishly” agreed.

Describing him as a “dedicated family man,” Advocate Dix said that Chereches was “the hired hand in these importations”, but emphasised that he received no financial gain from assisting in the haul. 

Charged with the conspiracy and money laundering offences as well as a number of other drugs-related and motoring offences from separate incidents, Craciun admitted in interview that he had met the other two defendants and then sold on the 5kg of cannabis from the first importation for a total of £37,500.  

In total 12kg of cannabis was brought into the island arising from this conspiracy – seven kilos of which was seized by Customs. 

Craciun was also responsible for booking some of the travel and accommodation arrangements for his co-conspirators.

Speaking on behalf of Craciun, Advocate Luke Sette emphasised his client’s high level of co-operation and the information he offered during interview. Describing some of Craciun’s difficulties with gambling, alcohol and drugs, the defence laywer remarked that “those vices got the better of him.” 

The case was heard by Jurats Blampied, Christensen, Dulake, Austin-Vautier and Hughes. 

Royal Court Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith informed the defendants of their respective sentences.

Rodrigues was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, Chereches was handed a jail-term of four years and eight months and Craciun was sentenced to five years.