Pastor says cash seized by gardaí belongs to Donegal church

A pastor who had €840 seized by gardaí as part of an investigation into human trafficking claims the cash came from donations made by members of his church.

Nicolaie Cirpaci applied to have the cash returned to him under the Garda Property Act, at Letterkenny District Court, Co Donegal.

The cash, as well as two passports and an identification card, were seized by gardaí during raids across Letterkenny, in September last.

Garda Inspector Goretti Sheridan said the raids were part of an investigation into human trafficking. Solicitor Kieran O’Gorman said his client was not involved in human trafficking “in any way”.

Mr O’Gorman said Mr Cirpaci, of 2 Fortwell House, Letterkenny, is a pastor in the local Pentecostal Church, to which the money belonged. He said Mr Cirpaci could prove the money belonged to the church and that they would like the cash back before Christmas. He added that Mr Cirpaci and two other members of the church went to Letterkenny garda station on a number of occasions to get the items, including the cash, back.

Insp Sheridan said they had agreed to hand back the passports and the identification cards, but were applying to withhold the cash, as it is part of a criminal investigation. She said that a file on the overall investigation should be ready by the end of January, 2016.