A Sudanese "odd-jobs" man who sparked two security alerts at Dublin Airport within three days has been given a fully suspended prison sentence on the condition he leaves the country.
Father of three, Abdul Ahmead El Tayeb, 48, who has lived in England since 2017, was first arrested on Monday evening after he managed to get past security screening in Terminal 2 and onto an Aer Lingus flight to Birmingham without a ticket, passport or boarding pass.
He appeared in court on Tuesday and was fined €700 for trespass and an immigration offence of failing to produce a passport.
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However, El Tayeb, with an address at Stanton Street, Newcastle, England, was arrested again on Thursday morning.
He was charged with the same trespass and immigration offences again and brought back to Dublin District Court yesterday afternoon.
Defence solicitor Paddy McGarry said El Tayeb, who did not need a translator, was pleading guilty immediately.
Garda Kim Fitzpatrick told the court the latest alert happened at arrivals in Terminal 1 yesterday morning at 11.15 when she spotted El Tayeb.
She remembered him from Monday’s incident.
However, he had yet to go through the screening section.
“I followed this gentleman when he went into a restricted area, that is, staff services, I found him in an office, brought him out and asked what he was doing, and he said he was going back to Birmingham,” she said.
He made no reply to the charges and did not address the court.
Judge John King was informed about El Tayeb’s earlier airport incident that led to him getting fined.
The charges carry a possible 12-month sentence.
Pleading for leniency, Mr McGarry said his client lives between Newcastle and Birmingham, working as an odd-jobs man.
He had gone to Belfast to visit a friend, but he lost his bag with all his belongings, including his phone and passport.
He got the bus to Dublin and “drank the whole way”, and following the first incident at the airport, he ended up in court on Tuesday and getting fined.
The solicitor said afterwards he had provided him with the address of the Sudanese embassy, but it was not clear what happened, and he had been homeless in Dublin for the past two days.
Asked by the judge why he had not stayed in Belfast with his friend, Mr McGarry said that was unclear.
Judge King said, “it doesn’t add up,” but he noted the garda accepted that his identity had now been confirmed, and immigration officers were in court to organise his deportation.
The court heard he would be held overnight and returned to the UK tomorrow/today (Sat).
“Basically, he is trying to get back to his family in the UK,” Mr McGarry said. The garda agreed with him that the accused was never aggressive. However, she also accepted that he was adamant he wanted to get back to his wife and children.
Judge King said there was no reason for El Tayeb to be in this jurisdiction committing these offences.
The defence accepted that happening twice was aggravating but submitted that El Tayeb had not been in trouble in this state before.
Judge King imposed an eight-week sentence but suspended it on condition that El Tayeb co-operated with the immigration authorities and did not resist his deportation, and not return to Ireland for two years. Legal aid was granted.
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