Wednesday 28 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 3640Possession of controlled drugs for sale or supply · Co. Dublin · 23 Jun 2025

American basketball player Kristaps Kambala jailed for bringing €381,000 cannabis into Ireland

Kristaps Kambala, 22, a Division One college basketball player from Nevada, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to having 19kg of cannabis worth €381,000 for sale or supply at Dublin Airport on 23 June 2025, and was sentenced to three and a half years by Judge Orla Crowe.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In courtnot reported
  5. Verdictnot reported
  6. Sentenced7 Mar
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
19 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatKambala was stopped in Dublin Airport having travelled from Bangkok. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatThe locked luggage had to be cut open with bolt cutters. (irishmirror.ie)
  • what38 vacuum sealed bags containing 19kg of cannabis were found. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatThe cannabis was worth an estimated €381,000. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatKambala accepted the luggage was his but said someone else had packed it. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatKambala was due to meet someone at the airport to hand over the drugs. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatKambala was on holiday in Thailand with a man he considered like a brother who convinced him to carry the cannabis. (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtKambala pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. (irishmirror.ie)
  • sentenceJudge Orla Crowe imposed a sentence of three and a half years, backdated to when Kambala went into custody. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherKambala has no previous convictions in any jurisdiction. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherKambala is a Division One basketball player in the top one per cent in the US. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherKambala had secured a college scholarship. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherKambala had no idea of the weight of the drugs. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherKambala was born in Spain and his father is originally from Latvia. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherKambala's father was a 7 foot tall professional basketball player. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherKambala is six foot tall. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherKambala lost his sports scholarship as a result. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThe value of the drugs was an aggravating factor. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherKambala's guilty plea, character references, and loss of scholarship were mitigating features. (irishmirror.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 7 Mar2026
    Sentencedirishmirror.ie, first report
    American basketball star jailed for bringing €380k cannabis into Ireland

    Sentencing report: Kambala received three and a half years, backdated to custody, for bringing 19kg cannabis from Bangkok into Dublin Airport. He said a friend he considered like a brother convinced him to carry the drugs and packed his locked luggage.

    convicted, Kristaps Kambala, 22, male, American, named, non-irishKristaps Kambala