Three men held in human traff icking sting involving more than 100 gardaí
Family of tragic teenager Niamh will receive preliminary report very soon
THREE men were arrested yesterday following a major investigation into human trafficking and labour exploitation involving more than 100 gardaí.
The men, aged in their 30s and 40s, were arrested yesterday morning as searches were carried out at five locations in Cork and two more addresses in Roscommon.
The three suspects remained in Garda custody last night, where they were being held under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007.
Gardaí also said ‘items of evidential value were seized during the courses of the searches’.
More than 100 officers were involved in the mammoth
‘Gardaí say bar for evidence is very high’
operation, which was led by detectives from the Divisional Protective Service Unit in Cork and supported by uniform and plain clothes gardaí, the Garda Dog Unit, the Armed Support Unit, and the Scenes of Crime Unit.
The investigation team in Cork is also being supported by gardaí from various national units including the Human Trafficking Investigation & Coordination Unit at the Garda National Protective Service Bureau, the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau and the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau.
In a statement yesterday, gardaí said they are investigating ‘the activities of an Organised Crime Group based in Ireland, with Eastern European connection, involved in the alleged trafficking of persons into Ireland for the purpose of labour exploitation’.
The investigation is being supported by Europol.
People who have been trafficked for the purpose of labour exploitation are typically made to work in sectors such as agriculture, construction, entertainment, service industry, manufacturing and domestic servitude as well as begging.
They may be forced into labour exploitation directly by the criminals, but are more likely to be made available for work by third-party employers who often believe the labour is legitimately sourced.
The arrests follow criticism of the State’s record in prosecuting those behind the trade in human trafficking.
Ruth Breslin, lead researcher at the Sexual Exploitation Research Programme (SERP) at UCD said trafficking legislation in Ireland is ‘so robust that the bar for the evidence is really high’, resulting in few prosecutions.
She told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘When I ask the gardaí why they have such difficulty they say the bar for that evidence is really high and also, whatever way the gardaí and court system works, they really rely on witnesses testifying in court.’
Ms Breslin said traffickers are sometimes prosecuted for other related offences as a result, which can ‘minimise’ the crime.
‘Sometimes the trafficker is successfully prosecuted for offences related to trafficking but not actually convicted for trafficking,’ she added.
‘They will be prosecuted for organising prostitution or running a brothel. They are called trafficking-related offences, and I suppose you could argue it is a good thing they are being convicted for something, but that doesn’t show up in our trafficking conviction stats and it doesn’t show in the sentence they receive because they would have got a much harsher sentence. So you can argue their crimes are being kind of minimised by charging them with something lesser,’ she said.
THE results of a preliminary review into the death of a teenager at University Hospital Limerick will be given to her heartbroken family over the coming days, the Irish Mail on Sunday has learned.
Niamh McNally, 16, from Bruff, Co. Limerick, died suddenly on January 29, hours after she was rushed to UHL suffering from breathing difficulties.
Details about the completion of the ‘preliminary assessment’ into the sequence of events which led up to the schoolgirl’s death come as further harrowing details about her last hours emerged.
A source familiar with what unfolded at UHL after Ms McNally was brought to the hospital told the MoS: ‘Her mother and a doctor could both see that Niamh was deteriorating rapidly, and the doctor said he would bring her into the resuscitation area.
‘At this stage she was vomiting blood and was gasping for breath. Her mother was holding Niamh up on a trolley that was in a hospital corridor. She was holding Niamh up because the staff were so busy there was no one around to help.
‘Niamh’s mother was watching her child choking… then a doctor came to help and he grabbed an oxygen bag. Niamh’s mother tried to help out by helping to give her child oxygen.’
It has not been decided if there will be a full internal review into the care given to the teenager. But sources said a Serious Incident review into the tragedy is likely. If an inquiry is ordered, it will be the second investigation into the death of a teenage girl at UHL in the space of 13 months.
Aoife Johnston, also 16, from Shannon, Co. Clare, died at UHL in December 2022 after waiting 12 hours to be treated for sepsis after she contracted meningitis.
Former chief justice Frank Clark is now carrying out an independent inquiry to establish why Aoife died.
UHL has consistently recorded the worst emergency department waiting times in the country.
On the day Niamh McNally was brought to the hospital by ambulance, there were 113 patients waiting on trolleys, the highest number of all the State’s hospitals at the time.
Staff are said to be shocked and saddened by the death of a second teenager while in their care.
Describing the tragic events that unfolded on the night Niamh died, a source told the MoS: ‘Niamh and her mother arrived in the hospital around 3pm on Monday January 29. She was reviewed by a doctor around six o’clock and her mother asked that Niamh be seen by a doctor who had treated her before.
‘At this stage Niamh was in the resuscitation area and when she came back from having an X-Ray there wasn’t a bed in the resuscitation area for her so she was placed in a corridor.
‘When a doctor became concerned about her condition she was brought back into the resuscitation area.’
Niamh was an only child, and family friends say her mother is naturally devastated by her daughter’s death.
A friend said: ‘Niamh was into everything and it was just her and her Mam because her father died in an accident ten years ago. They were so close… it’s all very raw for her mother.’
In response to queries relating to the teenager’s care, a UHL spokesman said: ‘We express our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the patient concerned on their devastating loss.
‘We can confirm that a preliminary assessment has been carried out in line with the HSE Incident Management Framework. This is our normal practice where a sudden death occurs in our care. The findings from this assessment will be shared with the family.’
The spokesman added the hospital is in ‘direct contact with the family on these matters and it would be inappropriate to comment further’.
Meanwhile, the HSE has said it expects the independent inquiry
‘They were so close. It’s very raw for her mum’
‘Aoife inquiry will be finished within weeks’
into Aoife Johnston’s death will be completed within weeks.
A spokesman for the health authority said: ‘Mr Justice Clarke’s investigation is completely independent of UL Hospital Group and the HSE, and so we cannot commit to an exact date of conclusion.
‘An indicated time frame of eight weeks was given at the outset and we expect to hear from him then as to his estimated timing.
‘It is more important that he is allowed to conclude his work than work to a precise date, and while he may well need some more time, we would expect it to be a matter of weeks rather than months.’