Man who was taught by Joe Biden’s wife as a child caught with €330,000 worth of ketamine at Dublin airport

A man who was tutored by US first lady Jill Biden as a child was caught at Dublin airport last year with ketamine worth €330,000 in his suitcase, a court has heard.

Jonathan Diggins (47), from San Francisco, US, was arrested when he travelled back to Ireland to search for the suitcase containing the drugs, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today (Friday 26 July). Diggins was travelling from Brussels to San Francisco via Dublin last October when his suitcase missed its connecting flight as he travelled on to the US.

US customs officers at Dublin airport found a false bottom in the suitcase, which contained seven packets of ketamine with a street value of €330,000, prosecutor Jane Horgan-Jones BL told the court.

The court heard that Diggins was arrested at Dublin airport a few weeks later when he returned to Ireland to look for his lost suitcase.

He pleaded guilty to importing drugs into Dublin Airport on November 6, 2023. He has no previous convictions.

James Dwyer SC, defending, said his client had no intention of importing the drugs into Ireland; they were simply en route from Belgium to the United States. However, he said his client pleaded guilty to the charge despite this and was cooperating fully with the investigation.

He said Diggins was originally from Wilmington, Delaware, and was tutored by current U.S. First Lady Jill Biden when he was a child. He has two children and missed his oldest child’s high school graduation while in custody here.

The defence noted that it was not a sophisticated operation and that Diggins’ decision to travel back to Ireland was “either stupidity or ignorance”.

A number of testimonies were presented to the court praising Diggins as a good father. Judge Orla Crowe adjourned the case for completion next Wednesday, July 31.