Belfast: Three men in court over NI migrant trafficking
- Published
Two of the three defendants have addresses in Belfast
Three men have appeared in court in Belfast accused of trafficking Syrian migrants to Great Britain via Ireland.
Ahmad Omar, 39, from Woolsey Street in the city and Abdul Al-Youness, 28, from Agincourt Avenue, appeared at Belfast Magistrates' Court on Saturday along with Mohammed Awad, 24, from Chaplin Road in London.
They are all charged with facilitating a breach of immigration laws.
The offences allegedly date between November 2021 and February 2022.
A police officer told the court the men are "significant members of an international organised crime gang involved in a complex people-smuggling network between Syria and the United Kingdom".
"Evidence suggests they may have smuggled hundreds of migrants into the United Kingdom," they continued.
"This criminal network has established an infrastructure and capability to smuggle people across multiple international borders undetected.
"They have access to multiple identity documents and large sums of criminal cash."
'Risk of interference'
The court heard police had been investigating the case for about six months and had gathered evidence on flights from Belfast International Airport to other parts of the UK, as well as hotel bookings.
Al-Younness is allegedly linked to the offences by emails and a phone number on the flight bookings.
Omar is accused of having communication with one of the other defendants and being detected on CCTV footage travelling to the international airport on a number of occasions.
His defence lawyer said that while a car connected to Omar is seen, it has not been confirmed if he was driving.
The court was told that Awad raised suspicion at the airport on his way back to London in November when he was found to be carrying more than €5,000 (£4,185) and £1,000 in cash.
District Judge Amanda Henderson refused bail and said she was "satisfied" there was evidence to connect the defendants and she had "concerns there is a potential to access identity documents and risk of further offending, given the gravity of this enterprise".
"There is also risk of interference as there are doubtless others still at large," she continued.
All three defendants are expected to appear in court again via video-link next month.