Convicted human trafficker who was wanted for over a decade is arrested and appears before High Court

Updated Nov 10th 2020, 4:50 PM

A CONVICTED HUMAN-TRAFFICKER who was wanted for over a decade has been arrested and brought before the High Court in Dublin.

Liviu Biliuta (55) with a former address in the city of Botosani, Romania, was convicted by a Botosani court in 2008 of the trafficking of an adult female and girl, for the purposes of prostitution.

Detective Garda Tony Keane this afternoon told Mr Justice Paul Burns that at 6.59am this morning he arrested Biliuta, who had been living at a Dublin address, on Sheriff Street, Dublin 1.

Biliuta was cautioned after questioning and brought by Detective Garda Keane to the Bridewell Garda Station.

Biliuta was convicted by the Romanian court of human trafficking for helping to bring the girl and an adult female to the Netherlands during 2004-05, for which he received a seven-year jail sentence.

Detective Garda Keane told Mr Justice Burns that he arrested Biliuta on foot of a European Arrest Warrant endorsed by the High Court in 2016.

He said that Biliuta’s convictions in Romania were in relation to “organised and serious crime”.

In a press release this morning, Detective Superintendent Michael J Mullen of the Garda Extradition Unit described Biliuta ‘s arrest as a “significant arrest, co-ordinated by detectives attached to organised and serious crime, that represents our ongoing commitment to ensuring persons wanted on foot of international arrest warrants are brought to justice”.

Mr Justice Burns adjourned Biliuta’s case to Thursday, 19 November, for an expected bail application ahead of an extradition hearing on 27 November.

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