Two men facing multiple charges in connection with human trafficking and money laundering have appeared in court in Cork.
Marian Vavrek (46), of 5 Kontiki, Rooskey, Co Roscommon, and Ladislav Bubencik (32), of Railway Road, Charleville, Co Cork, appeared before Judge John King at Midleton District Court.
Mr Bubencik faces three counts of human trafficking and 20 counts of money laundering, while Mr Vavrek faces three counts of human trafficking and one count of money laundering.
Both men are originally from Slovakia but have been resident in Ireland for several years.
Sergeant Linda O’Leary said instructions from the Director of Public Prosecutions are awaited. She added that the State was objecting to bail in both cases.
Detective Sergeant Alan Lynch, from the Garda National Protective Services Bureau's Human Trafficking Investigation and Co-ordination Unit, told the court that he had been assisting gardaí in Cork in relation to the accused.
He said it was alleged the accused were part of a criminal gang that brought vulnerable people from Slovakia to Ireland and exploited their labour. He said such gangs operate by bringing people to Ireland, keeping them isolated and exploiting their work for their own personal gain.
In the case of Mr Vavrek, Detective Sergeant Kevin McCarthy gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution.
He outlined the case against Mr Vavrek and said there were three alleged injured parties who had given statements.
Det Sgt McCarthy said CCTV footage showed Mr Vavrek collecting people from Dublin Airport and also using bank cards at ATMs that were not his own.
Intimidation concerns
The garda objected to bail based on the grounds that the accused was likely to continue to commit alleged offences, the seriousness of the charges he was facing, and concerns over possible witness intimidation.
The court heard that Mr Vavrek had 57 previous convictions, 48 of which were committed in Ireland, the majority of which were road traffic offences.
Mr Vavrek’s solicitor, Denis Linehan, said because the alleged injured parties were no longer residing in the country it was “not practical” to consider that Mr Vavrek could intimidate them.
Mr Linehan added that the money laundering charge his client faces is in respect of €219, which he said was a “minute amount”.
He said his client had denied all the charges put to him, and claimed the prosecution are attaching “too much significance to the fact that he collected somebody from the airport”.
In the case of Mr Bubencik, Detective Garda Shane O’Donoghue gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution.
He was also charged with the human trafficking of three named individuals, in addition to 20 counts of money laundering. He has denied all of the charges put to him.
Gardaí also objected to bail on the grounds that the accused was likely to continue to commit alleged offences, the seriousness of the charges, and fears of witness intimidation. The court heard that he had five previous convictions, all of which are road traffic-related.
Mr Bubencik’s solicitor, Charles O’Connor, said his client had been living at the same address in Charleville for 10 years. He said that he was married and that all of his family, with the exception of his grandmother, are living in Ireland.
He said his children were attending the local primary school and that Mr Bubencik had no relevant previous convictions.
In respect of Mr Vavrek, Judge John King said the charges were very serious but the evidence before him essentially rested on three statements.
He said that the social media and CCTV evidence had been referred to, but not put before him. He added that on that basis he had some concerns about the strength of the evidence.
The judge remanded both men in custody with consent to bail, to appear in court again on Tuesday via videolink.
