A foreign national whose identity remains uncertain has been jailed for two years for burglary at a top Dublin hotel and using a stolen credit card to buy luxury items at city centre jewellbers.
The man had escaped from a British prison, where he was serving a sentence for similar crimes, just 10 days before committing the offences in Dublin. Gardaí were assisted by reports in British newspapers in apprehending the individual, who may also be wanted in France and America.
Judge Katherine Delahunt backdated the two-year sentence to June 2005, when he entered custody in Ireland. His extradition to Britain to serve the remainder of a 3½-year sentence, of which he had served eight weeks before absconding, may be sought upon the end of his sentence in Ireland.
The defendant, known to Interpol as Juan Carlos Guzman Betancourt (29) from Colombia, but claiming to be Alejandro Cuenca (25) from Spain, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to entering a suite in the Merrion Hotel and stealing a ruby ring, a passport, a wallet containing credit cards, $3,500 in cash and €250 in cash on June 16th, 2005. He also pleaded guilty to using a stolen credit card to buy a Rolex watch, a gold chain and a wedding ring.
The court heard the defendant had up to 15 aliases in a number of jurisdictions, but gardaí believe him to be Juan Carlos Guzman Betancourt, born to Colombian diplomats in June 1976. Extradition inquiries from France and the US have been received.