This article is from page 12 of the 2008-11-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
A FIVE-FIGURE sum of money and valuable pieces of jewellery, stolen during a spate of burglaries in Ennis over the past two months, have not yet been recovered.
This revelation emerged in the case of an Iranian refugee who is charged with three counts of burglary and one of handling stolen property. A total of 55 homes in Ennis were bur- gled between September and last week, prompting a major garda in- vestigation to be sprung into action. Jewellery, valued at €100,000, was recovered last Saturday week, as part of Operation Ennis, which was set up to investigate the matter.
Ali Reza Velayati (39), of Avondale, Kilrush Road, Ennis, 1s accused of
four alleged offences, on four sepa- rate dates in October and November.
The burglary charges relate to houses at Tobartaoscain, Ard na Gréine and Limerick Road, Ennis. Jewellery, valued at €1,950, was taken from one of the houses, while jewellery, worth €500, was taken from another house.
He is accused of handling assorted stolen jewellery, at Oakwood Drive, Ennis, on November 8 last.
Defending solicitor Daragh Has- sett was granted free legal aid for his client, who he said is a refugee. However, an application for bail was refused, after gardai objected.
Inspector Tom Kennedy said the charges in court formed “part of a whole plethora of charges relating to the burglary of 55 private residences
in Ennis between late September and November.”
‘He has been interviewed in rela- tion to all of these offences. While we have not brought charges in rela- tion to all of those, we are consulting with the DPP,” he said.
Mr Hassett said his client has been in Ireland for the past six months, having previously lived in China, under a refugee programme. He said the accused could not return to either Iran or China and effectively had “nowhere to go”.
‘He is not at flight risk, if that’s the State’s concern,’ said Mr Hassett.
However Inspector Kennedy dis- puted this and said the accused was at “enormous flight risk. His position in the country is very tenuous.” He said if bail was granted, there would
be concerns that the defendant would disappear.
“Despite the fact that a huge amount of property has been recovered, there is still a huge amount of property outstanding,” he said, adding that the State would be concerned the ac- cused could turn this into an “asset for himself.”
Detective Sergeant Michael Molo- ney then told the court that the “more valuable pieces of jewellery’, along with a five-figure sum of cash, were still outstanding. Dt Sgt Moloney said that the accused’s wife was no longer living at their address at Avondale.
“He has no direct links to this country. He is here on a travel docu- ment as opposed to a passport, under a refugee programme. I don’t believe he will turn up for a subsequent hear-
ing (if granted bail),” he said.
Mr Hassett said that his client’s wife is heavily pregnant and was staying with a friend, as she did not want to stay at their home on her own. He said his client could not leave the jurisdiction without the rel- evant documentation. However, Dt Sgt Moloney replied, “We all know if you want to leave the jurisdiction it can be done.”
Inspector Kennedy said that back- ground checks were still being proc- essed in relation to the accused. ““The State has a responsibility. There is overwhelming evidence against the accused,’ he said.
Judge Joseph Mangan refused bail and remanded the accused in cus- tody to re-appear in court later this month.