Georgian man deported after daring escape bid

A FOREIGN national who was recaptured yesterday after escaping from gardaí during a deportation was due to be evicted last night.

The 21-year-old man, from Georgia, managed to give his garda minders the slip at Dublin Airport just as he was about to be put on a 6.30am flight to Frankfurt.

Despite an intensive garda search of the area, during which the runway was closed, the man could not be found. The search was called off after half an hour to allow flights to resume.

The youth was being sent back to Germany by officers from the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).

He had originally entered the EU off a flight into Germany and from there got a connecting flight to Ireland, where it is believed he claimed asylum.

Under the Dublin II Regulation, an EU agreement, the man had to be sent back to Germany for his asylum claim to be assessed.

GNIB detectives, who were actively looking for him, received information later in the day and tracked him down to Hatch Street in the city centre.

They arrested him just before 2pm and immediately set about making fresh preparations for his deportation.

Garda sources said the man would be “appropriately restrained” the second time around to ensure there was no possibility of a repeat.

Sources yesterday pointed out that, as these people were not criminals, gardaí tried to treat them with dignity and respect.

“We don’t want to be restraining them. We usually know in advance if they are likely to cause trouble and in this case there was no reason to handcuff him the first time,” said a source.

The GNIB will carry out a review of the incident and adjust their procedures if they need to.

However, sources pointed out that it was the first time, out of nearly 6,000 removals from the state, that this had happened.

Garda sources yesterday said that the man suddenly fled from his two garda minders during the short walk from the gate to the plane.

Efforts to see where he went were not helped by the fact that it was dark, along with the heavy rain and winds.

Flights were delayed for half an hour yesterday morning during the initial search. No flights had to be diverted or cancelled.