A BRAZILIAN man has been jailed for running brothels in towns around Ireland, including one just over the Fermanagh border in Ballyconnell, as part of an investigation into human trafficking.
Ilamar Rodrigues Ribeiro (54) from Goias in Brazil was arrested at Dublin Airport by officers from the Garda Human Trafficking and Co-ordination Unit upon returning to Ireland from abroad.
At Dublin Criminal Court last week he was sentenced to nine years in prison, after pleading guilty to a number of offences linked to brothel-keeping, including being in possession of the proceeds of crime to the tune of almost €800,000, with the charges relating to between 2010 and 2023.
Ribeiro also pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography, after child sexual abuse material was found on his phone when arrested.
The court heard Ribeiro had rented properties around Ireland, including the one in Co Cavan and another in Co Leitrim, under false pretences and used them as brothels. Other locations included Roscommon, Kildare, and Wexford.
It was also told that when investigation, Garda officers had called to some of the properties and the women who answered the doors had identified themselves as sex workers.
Ribeiro was sentenced to a total of 10-and-a-half years in prison, with the last 18 months suspended.
An earlier hearing had been told by the prosecutor that the charges against Ribeiro were part of a wider investigation that began after two women had come forward to An Garda Síochána.
Garda Detective Chief Superintendent Colm Noonan appealed to other women to come forward.
“The feature of human trafficking, the feature of sexual exploitation, is people are moved from address to address, they are exploited day in, day out, and in every town, city, village and part of this country there are women being sexually exploited today,” he said.
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