IN LIGHT OF the escape from custody by convicted criminal Derek Brockwell on Tuesday, much has been made of the fact that he was even in Ireland in the first place.

He was arrested in Belfast last night by the PSNI.

Brockwell had been placed on work release in the UK while serving multiple life sentences in 2012.

However, he absconded from the country and came to Ireland.

Here he was arrested for robbery and firearms offences and sentenced to seven years imprisonment in Portlaoise Prison.

The question that many have asked, both in the comments section here and on social media, is why was he not returned to the UK immediately?

Put simply: because he was convicted of a crime in Ireland.

The Department of Justice, while not discussing any specific case, says that the typical process would see anyone convicted of a crime in Ireland serve their time in an Irish prison.

“If towards the end of the sentence the original jurisdiction wishes to extradite the person, they would file a European Arrest Warrant,” a spokesperson told TheJournal.ie.

In that case, the extradition proceedings would proceed as normal, the spokesperson added.

Brockwell being in an Irish prison was nothing out of the ordinary, they added.

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