A VIETNAMESE unaccompanied minor brought to Ireland by Chinese human traffickers for illegal labour, had a burglary prosecution struck out at the Dublin Children’s Court yesterday.
The 16-year-old boy is in Ireland without parents and has no passport, the court heard. He had been given bail on July 14th last after spending over a month on remand in St Patrick’s Institution following his arrest for a burglary at Galtymore Road, Drimnagh, Dublin, on June 2nd and failing to produce identity documents within seven days of arriving in the State, under the Immigration Act.
Gardaí had objected to bail pending efforts to confirm the teenager’s identity. Bail was granted to allow him be taken into care to live in a special HSE-run hostel for unaccompanied minors with support from care workers.
Yesterday Judge Bryan Smyth consented to an application from defence solicitor Sarah Molloy to strike out the charge due to the non-attendance of a prosecuting garda.
The boy who was accompanied to court by his social worker then left court to resume his care placement.
Earlier the court had heard Interpol has been contacted to find out if he is on its missing children’s list but that inquiry has “turned up blank”.
Ruhama, the voluntary agency which works with people brought to Ireland for sexual exploitation, believed he was trafficked to Ireland “specifically for illegal labour”, Ms Molloy had said.
The court heard he left Vietnam with his parents in early childhood and travelled to Russia and several other European states before arriving in Ireland, in April, after “money changed hands” with an “agent”.
The boy was brought here by Chinese nationals who had previously moved him around Europe to work illegally.
Ms Molloy had also submitted that the boy’s silence over how he came to be in Ireland was a result of being in fear and it is believed he was “a victim of human trafficking”.