A Mauritian national has told a jury he applied to a company in Mauritius for a work permit for Ireland after reading an advertisement which said: "Would you like to work in Ireland and earn euro?"
Mr Veeraj Sunyasi, who has been attending college in Ireland since January 2005, said he paid a total of 105,000 Mauritian rupee, (about €3,500) to Micro Data Info (MDI) after meeting the company's managing director, Kevin Chuttur, in April 2004.
He later went to a meeting in MDI where he and 20 other Mauritian nationals met Mr Olaitan Ilori, who was described as an immigration consultant from Ireland. Mr Ilori told them he did not have the work permits arranged and that they would have to come to Ireland first where they would be approved in a week.
Mr Sunyasi said Mr Ilori told the group he had already found jobs for them but they would have to do a trial in their new position before a work permit was issued. He said the group had been told Mr Ilori would have the documents at the meeting ready for them to work legally in Ireland.
Mr Ilori, Oak Drive, Blessington, Co Wicklow, has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that between March 1st and October 27th, 2004, he organised or knowingly facilitated the entry into the State on October 27th, 2004, of 14 Mauritian nationals, whom he knew or had reasonable cause to believe were illegal immigrants. It was day seven of the trial.
Mr Sunyasi told Mr Patrick McGrath BL (with Mr Alex Owens SC), prosecuting, that this meeting took place a couple of days before he travelled to Ireland with 11 fellow nationals and two children and Mr Ilori. When the group arrived in Paris on their way to Dublin airport, he got worried that they had no documentation. He voiced this concern to Mr Ilori who told him not to worry. He said that when some of the group were filling out the landing card on the aircraft they asked Mr Ilori what they should say was the purpose of their visit to Ireland and he told them to tick the box for tourism.
He agreed with Mr McGrath that they were not allowed into Ireland and the group flew back to Paris the next day before going home to Mauritius.
Mr Sunyasi told Ms Aileen Donnelly SC (with Mr Kerida Naidoo BL), defending, that before he arrived in Ireland in January 2006, he phoned his colleague and told them he previously had been refused entry to the State.
Mr Sunyasi did not accept a suggestion from Ms Donnelly that Mr Ilori told the group that once they came to Ireland they would have to find a suitable employer who would then apply for a work authorisation. He also did not accept that Mr Ilori never suggested that a work permit would be available within a week of their arrival.
The hearing continues.