Passport charge against fisherman dismissed

An Egyptian fisherman arrested in west Cork last month for a breach of the Immigration Act has walked free from court after a judge dismissed the charge against him under the Probation of Offenders Act.

Mohamed Elfallah (23), who is originally from Alexandria in Egypt but has been fishing in Ireland for two years, was charged with failing to produce a valid passport or equivalent identification documents at Union Hall pier in Co Cork on November 4th.

The State alleged Mr Elfallah failed to produce the necessary documents when requested to do so by Garda James Crowley on the day in question, contrary to section 12 of the Immigration Act 2004.

Necessary paperwork

Defence solicitor Ray Hennessy told Judge James McNulty at Bandon District Court that Mr Elfallah would be contesting the charge fully as he had the necessary paperwork including a passport but simply did not bring them with him when going fishing aboard an Irish trawler.

“The last thing he expected heading out to sea was to be stopped by the long arm of An Garda Síochána,” Mr Hennessy told the court last Friday, adding his client had got a friend to furnish his papers at Drogheda Garda station as soon as he was arrested and the papers were found to be in order.

Judge McNulty accepted Mr Elfallah’s papers were in order but he did point out that he had failed to produce the papers when requested to do so as required by law and he asked whether Mr Elfallah might approach the charge in a different manner.

He suggested that the court would be minded to take a lenient approach if Mr Elfallah was inclined to adopt what he described as “a west Cork type plea or perhaps more accurately, a Bantry type plea” where he might admit that he was “a ‘shmall’ bit guilty”.

Mr Hennessy acknowledged that was indeed a possibility and after he consulted with Mr Elfallah, he told the court his client would plead guilty to the offence of not having the necessary documentation at Union Hall pier on the day in question.

Good record

Insp Pat Meaney told the court Mr Elfallah had no previous convictions and Judge McNulty said that in light of the guilty plea and his previous good record, he dismissed the charge under the Probation of Offenders Act.