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A Palestinian taxi driver who did not declare that he had over €122,000 hidden in socks and boots in his luggage has had his prison sentence suspended on condition that he leaves Ireland within a week.
Judge Elma Sheahan heard that the accused man, Khaled Almoghayer (43), of Winston Cheshire, Blephler, Belgium, attempted to board a flight to Istanbul from Dublin on the 3rd of January this year.
Garda Sarah Johnson, stationed at Dublin Airport Garda station, aided Fergal Foley BL in giving evidence of the circumstances in which the accused came to the attention of the Revenue section of Customs at Dublin Airport.
Mr Foley outlined how the accused had approximately €3,000 on his person in what Garda Johnson described as a “man bag” and that the balance of the cash, which he did not declare, was concealed in his checked luggage, which was taken from the plane after suspicions were raised.
Almoghayer, who is a father of three, was questioned at the airport Garda station under caution and said that he had travelled to Ireland in transit. The court heard he was flying on a Belgian passport.
The total amount of money in his possession was €122,850.
Garda Johnson said that the accused claimed to have arrived in Ireland on his own; however, the court heard that he left the airport with another man with whom he travelled to Rathmines in a taxi, although he had claimed he had been dropped in the city centre.
Although the accused claimed to have gone to a hotel in the city centre, Garda Johnson said that he had no proof of any booking.
The court heard he was picked up the following day and travelled back to Dublin Airport with a number of other people who separated when they reached the terminal.
When Garda Johnson asked Almoghayer, who lives in state-subsidised housing and receives child benefit, if he had been to Ireland before, he said that he had not; however, she told the court that he had, in fact, travelled to Ireland 10 times “in the last year”.
He claimed that the money was his “life savings” and that he wanted to buy a property for his parents, who are asylum seekers in Turkey, having fled Gaza, the court heard.
Garda Johnson told the court that he had “No bank account, no bank statements or records,” and “no proof that it was savings,” although the accused claimed through his interpreter that he had certain evidence related to the cash in Belgium.
“If it was your life savings, why would you put it into your suitcase?” as “lots of suitcases go missing”, she said.
Garda Johnson said that the accused had travelled 22 times in the last five months and that in 2023 he went to Egypt, Palestine, and Morocco.
Defending counsel Ms Aisling Ginger Quinn argued that her client had been in employment in Belgium for the 12 years he had been there and that his wife works for the Belgian government.
She said that he had come to court on a signed plea of guilty, had cooperated with Gardaí, and wished to return to his family when the matter had been dealt with.
When Judge Sheahan asked why he had come to Ireland so many times, Ms Quinn said that it was her instruction that it was cheaper to take that route between Belgium and Istanbul.
She said that his parents’ home in Gaza had been destroyed in the war and that he has “learned a very valuable lesson” in custody, which is “not an easy time for him”, as he is “not an English speaker.”
When the court asked why he had not sent the money through a bank, Ms Quinn took instructions from her client, who said that he didn’t know it was an offence to travel with the money undeclared.
Almoghayer claimed through his interpreter that he had told officers at the airport about the €3,000 and claimed that he didn’t know he should have also declared the remaining funds.
“I only have three in my pockets,” the interpreter said.
“I have to comment that instructions are not evidence, Judge”, Mr Foley, prosecuting, said.
The court heard that the accused has no previous convictions.
Having heard the evidence, Judge Sheahan said that the accused’s early signed plea of guilty had spared the need for a full Garda investigation and the preparation of a book of evidence.
The maximum penalty for a breach of Section 42 2A of the Customs Act 2015 is three years in prison and/or a fine of €500,000, the court heard.
Judge Sheahan said that despite his stated reasons for travelling, “the evidence about his movements to Gardaí and his engagement is somewhat questionable”.
She noted the “seriousness of the offending” as an aggravating factor before taking into consideration mitigation factors such as his previous good character, the effect of separation from his young family, and the amount of time he had spent in custody since the date of the offence.
The court set a headline sentence of two years for the “mid-range” offending, which was reduced to one year.
The accused was afforded the opportunity to have the balance of the 12-month sentence (backdated to the 3rd of March 2026) suspended on condition that he undertake to leave the state within seven days.
Hearing this, he said through his interpreter, “I will leave today.”
Although counsel for the State initially sought a forfeiture order in respect of the cash, it was clarified that as there was no evidence that the money was the proceeds of crime, the matter would be dealt with by Revenue and was not a matter for the court.
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