Garda intelligence on those behind the trafficking of refugees into Ireland is being amassed, and these people will be the target of a new operation, a senior Garda said yesterday.
Chief Supt Martin Donnellan, the head of the new Garda National Immigration Bureau, said the Garda believed that while some traffickers were Irish, others were of different nationalities, but based in Ireland.
Gardai were noting the identity of suspects making frequent trips through Rosslare Harbour, and new legislation due to be introduced shortly would allow penalties to be imposed on traffickers, he said. Under British law carriers are fined £2,000 for every refugee they bring in.
Officers will also attempt to monitor the route taken by traffickers who use the Larne ferry port and cross the Border. At the end of July the 50-strong unit will begin fingerprinting refugees at the central refugee processing centre in Dublin, which handles an average of 1,000 asylum applications per month. "The bureau will attempt to handle this issue in as humane a way as possible because we have to remember that some are genuine asylum-seekers," Chief Supt Donnellan added.
However, the president of the Road Haulage Association of Ireland yesterday warned that its members should not become scapegoats in any clampdown on traffickers.
Mr Gerry McMahon said the tragedy in Dover could have occurred at an Irish port as many Irish long-distance drivers had discovered refugees in their trucks after parking them overnight in Belgium or along the French corridor into Calais.
He said a majority of drivers were unknowingly involved and most were now becoming more vigilant in an attempt to stop refugees using their vehicles.
"Instead of introducing draconian fines the authorities must seriously address the problem with compulsory checks before leaving a port. This may cause delays but it's better to suffer that than another experience like Dover," Mr McMahon added.
On 10 occasions in the last year drivers for Caffery International, a haulage firm in Ashbourne, Co. Meath, have discovered refugees in their trailers after parking the vehicles overnight.
"All we can tell our drivers to do is not to park in certain places and to check their cargos before going on the boat," said Mr Mark Caffery. He said traffickers often cut material on trucks and loaded on the refugees before sewing up the cut.
"Once one of our drivers saw a hand sticking out the side of his truck in his wing mirror when he disembarked in England. He never knew the refugees were aboard and they were telling him they wanted to get out," he added.
The Irish Refugee Council yesterday described the discovery of the bodies in Dover as horrific. A spokesman called for the introduction of policies "that do not force refugees to endanger their lives by stowing away or being trafficked by criminal organisations."
In March 1998 the body of an African teenager was found in the sealed cargo compartment of a Nigerian ship, which had docked in Stokestown Port, New Ross.
Local gardai could not identify the man despite receiving help from Interpol and the Irish Refugee Council. The remains were buried in St Stephen's cemetery in the town.