A young Irishwoman has told how she helped Italian police nail a trafficker after getting duped into handling drugs.
Kyla O’Connor described how her vital role in a drugs sting saved her from serving seven years in prison.
The 28-year-old, originally from Ballincollig, Co Cork, who has been living in Italy for the past seven years, did not know that doing a favour for a friend would almost leave her with a criminal record.
She landed a job in a boutique in Milan, the fashion capital of Europe.
Kyla said: “A friend of mine had some Australian friends who were planning on travelling around Europe and they needed an address for their visa. My friend asked if they could use mine. I didn’t think anymore about it, so I said yes.”
A few days later, Kyla received a message on social media thanking her for her help.
She added: “This guy wrote to me on Facebook who I had never met before saying ‘thanks’.
“I realised it was one of the guys who needed to use my address for their visa.
“He said he was in Portugal and needed a part for his car so he was going to have it
delivered to my address.”
Kyla said that one day a friendly couple came into her shop and then later the concierge in her building said there was package downstairs for her.
She added: “I went downstairs where the postman was waiting for me, he asked if I was Kyla O’Connor. I said, ‘yes’.
“Then out of my eye I saw the friendly couple that I had been chatting to in the boutique in my courtyard. Still the penny hadn’t dropped.”
The couple were from the Guardia di Finanza – the anti-mafia police – and they asked her to open the package which was full of cocaine and ecstasy tablets.
Kyla was arrested and interrogated for two hours before she realised she had evidence in her phone to clear her name.
She added: “After I showed them all the messages on my phone they accepted my innocence and made a plan to put a bug on my phone to catch the criminal.”
A few days later, the man contacted Kyla and said he was on his way to collect the package.
She informed the police who moved in and arrested him.
When the case went to court Kyla was given an honorary mention by the Mayor of Milan for her actions.
