A man who has been on the run from the authorities in Romania for more than a decade after being convicted of human trafficking has been arrested in Dublin.
The Romanian man (55) was arrested in an operation coordinated by detectives attached to the Garda’s Organised and Series Crime section on Monday afternoon. While a European Arrest Warrant was issued for him in 2016 he had been convicted in Romania in 2008 and has been at large since then.
A major investigation in Romania began in 2004 into allegations that a group of people there, including the man now being held in Dublin, were involved in trafficking people, including minors, to the Netherlands.
The man now arrested in Dublin being convicted in 2008 for his role in the criminal enterprise and being sentenced to five years imprisonment but he went on the run and left Romania.
An alert seeking information on his whereabouts has been on issue by the Romanian police for several years.
His arrest in Dublin on Tuesday in north Dublin was set to be followed by an appearance before the High Court to commence the process of extraditing him back to Romania to serve his sentence.
Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin, on Tuesday issued a statement confirming the arrest of a Romanian man, though it did not disclose the detail of the case.
“Gardaí attached to the Garda Extradition Unit and Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation have today, November 10th, arrested a 55 year-old man at a location in north Dublin on foot of a European Arrest Warrant,” the statement said.
“The warrant was issued in 2016 by Romanian authorities following the man’s conviction for offences of Human Trafficking of adults and children.”
Detective Supt Michael Mullen of the Garda Extradition Unit said: “This significant arrest coordinated by detectives attached to Organised and Serious Crime represents our ongoing commitment to ensuring persons wanted on foot of International arrest warrants are brought to justice.”
