By Isabel Hayes
A man who was caught in possession of fake Slovakian identities that gardaí believe were to help Georgian immigrants illegally enter the country has been jailed for two years.
Giorgi Bazadye (50) of Griffith Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 11, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of possessing a false instrument within the State on October 25, 2017, with the remaining counts taken into consideration. He has 79 previous convictions.
Garda Karen Barker told Garnet Orange SC, prosecuting, yesterday that gardaí were alerted to Bazadye after staff at a DHL centre expressed concern about the contents of a package he and his adult son were attempting to send to Italy.
The court heard the package contained four fake Slovakian national identity cards “of quite a high quality” along with four matching fake Slovakian driving licences.
Bazadye was arrested in 2018.
Gda Barker told the court that gardaí believed the fake IDs were part of an operation whereby false documentation was being sent to members of the Georgian community in the Schengen region – where they have permission to temporarily reside.
The court heard they would then enter Ireland to live and work under a false identity as Europeans.
Gda Barker said Bazadye, who is originally from Georgia and moved to Ireland in 2007, is living here “in limbo”.
He is married to a Lithuanian woman which would ordinarily qualify him to live and work here, but his visa was revoked as a result of his previous offending.
The court heard the 79 previous convictions are mostly for shoplifting and road traffic offences, including driving without a licence and insurance.
Bazadye has three young children with his current partner, the youngest of whom is 14 months.
He has adult children from an earlier relationship.
His son who accompanied him to DHL on the day in question was previously jailed for three years.
Seamus Clarke SC, defending, said Bazadye’s son was involved in the fake identity operation to a larger degree than Bazadye.
He said his client had a smaller part in the operation.
He said Bazadye had been in the jurisdiction for 16 years and has a young family he cares for while his wife is working.
A number of testimonials were handed into court.
Sentencing Bazadye, Judge Elma Sheahan said deterrence was an important issue in cases such as these and that the court took a serious view of attempts to breach the integrity of the immigration system.
She handed down a sentence of two years.