DUBLIN, Ireland: A Dublin Circuit Criminal Court judge sentenced a man to five years in prison for using diplomatic passports to assist several women to enter the country.

For three months in 2024, Abdallatif Mohamed (40), aka Hussein, used Somali diplomatic passports to help several women enter the State at Dublin Airport.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of assisting in the unlawful entry into the State of persons.  

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told that Mohamed was working in the diplomatic services when he committed these crimes.

The court heard that Mohammed was traveling on a flight from Abu Dhabi on November 26, 2024, with two women, claiming to be his wife and daughter. The two women were travelling on genuine Somali diplomatic passports, which had not been issued to them.

When the gardai inspected the passports of the women at the aircraft door, they were told that the pictures on the passports did not match their faces.

Mohamed was later seen at the offices of the Garda National Immigration Bureau attempting to conceal the women's genuine passports in his clothing. Gardai also found two phones, US$13,910, and small amounts of other denominations on his person.

The women confirmed that the passports Mohamed had were their genuine passports. They both said they had paid him to bring them here.

One woman said she paid $14,000, while the other woman said she paid $15,000.

When interviewed by gardaí, he said he would explain that he had entered the State for a one-week holiday and would show immigration officials proof of his planned departure. Mohamed said he had a separate booking to leave the following day, while the women intended to stay behind.

Mohamed also admitted to two further similar offences on September 30 and November 6, 2024. Gardaí confirmed these incidents using CCTV footage.

The court heard that Mohamed would arrive on a flight from Abu Dhabi with a woman, but would leave the plane alone and go through immigration, presenting a Somali diplomatic passport and saying he was visiting for a week.

The women would then present themselves without travel documents and seek international protection. The court was told that Mohamed was carrying their travel documents.

The court noted that diplomatic passports have a special status to protect diplomatic staff in the course of their duties, not to facilitate criminal activity.

On December 19, Judge Dara Hayes described the offence as serious and imposed a five-year sentence, with the final six months suspended on strict conditions, backdated to the date Mohamed entered custody.

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