Eight Rosslare stowaways missing from State services
They were among the group of 14 who arrived in the back of a truck this week
EIGHT migrants who came to Ireland in the back of a refrigerated container have fled State support and are now considered missing.
A total of 14 people, including two young children, arrived at Rosslare Europort on Monday morning.
One of the stowaways contacted the UK coastguard after they began to fear they were not getting enough oxygen in the sealed container.
Eight people, believed to be mostly men, are now missing from the processing centre in Dublin where they were taken after being medically checked.
The eight are not being pursued by gardaí as they say no crime has been committed. Gardaí have said this is not a matter for them but for the International Protection Office.
A spokesman said: ‘Gardaí in Wexford continue to investigate all of the circumstances of the discovery of 14 persons concealed in a shipping container arriving in Rosslare Europort at approximately 3am on Monday, January 8.
‘Any query related to the current status of any international protection applicant is a matter for the International Protection Office.
‘An Garda Síochána has no further comment at this time.’
Sources have told the Irish Daily Mail that incidents such as this happen ‘quite often’ and that it’s a similar situation across Europe.
One explained: ‘These processing places are not prisons. It’s not like they are locked up.
‘They can come and go as they please and they can also stay in someone’s else’s home such as a friend or family. This is not meant to be a lock-up of any kind. It is to process people. It’s to treat them with respect and give them a roof over their heads while the request is being processed.’
While gardaí continue to investigate the incident, they are trying to establish if these people were smuggled to Ireland for a fee or if they were being brought here to work. Gardaí said there is a marked difference between people smuggling and people trafficking.
A Garda spokesman said: ‘The evidence discovered in this case will ultimately determine whether this incident is a case of human trafficking or of people smuggling.
‘While both involve the illegal transportation of humans, the transportation is for a different purpose. People smuggling involves illegal immigrants making an illegal entry into Ireland. Illegal immigrants want to enter a destination country and often pay someone to facilitate their illegal entry.
‘Human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation and ultimately the exploitation of a victim, which can be for a number of reasons including labour exploitation, sexual exploitation, forced criminality or exploitation consisting of the removal of one or more of the organs of a person.
‘An Garda Síochána appeals to potential victims of human trafficking or anyone possessing information that could help identify a victim to contact either their local Garda station or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111,’ the spokesman added.
Establish if they were smuggled