Woman to be extradited to Northern Ireland for alleged theft of €6.8k worth of designer handbags

A 52-year-old woman is set to be extradited to Northern Ireland for the alleged theft of six designer handbags from a Belfast department store.

Catherine Gaffney had contested her surrender at the High Court today, with her lawyers submitting that she was treated differently in a Belfast prison because she was a "southern Irish Catholic".

High Court judge Ms Aileen Donnelly said today that these alleged “high-end thefts” which were valued at £6,000 (€6,800) were “planned and not impulsive”.

Gaffney, with an address at Carraroe Avenue, Grange, Dublin 13, opposed her extradition on the basis that they breached her rights under Article 3 and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Gaffney is wanted in Northern Ireland in respect of three theft offences, one attempted theft offence and one offence of obstructing a Constable in the execution of his duty.

Counts one and two on the warrant state that Gaffney stole Mulberry handbags valued at £2,785 on July 7 and 8 2016, which belonged to Stephen Mewha, an employee of House of Fraser in Belfast. The items were not recovered.

The third offence alleges that Gaffney stole a further three Mulberry handbags at the same store and valued at £3,000 on November 19, 2016. The warrant states that the respondent placed a blue handbag and two red handbags into her blue reusable shopping bag before she left the shop.

The fourth offence on the warrant claims that Gaffney attempted to steal a seventh Mulberry handbag as well as a purse valued at £1,500 at the same store on December 10, 2016. The warrant states that staff detained Gaffney that day for theft believing her to be the same female responsible for previous thefts.

A member of store security followed her after she placed the handbag and purse into her carrier bag and walked off toward the exit without offering payment. However, she lifted the handbag and purse out of the carrier bag and "dumped" them on a shelf when she realised that she was being followed. The respondent was detained by security staff and the police were called.

The fifth offence relates to Gaffney obstructing a Constable in the execution of his duty on December 10, 2016.

By the time a decision was made to prosecute the respondent in January 2017, she had left the jurisdiction.

Opening an application for surrender today, Counsel for the Minister for Justice, Jane Horgan Jones BL, told Ms Justice Donnelly that there were five offences in total and the respondent was in custody on other matters. A person guilty of theft and attempted theft in Northern Ireland shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years.

Kate Egan BL, for Gaffney, outlined to the court objections to the surrender of her client to Northern Ireland.

Ms Egan said the central submission related to a potential breach of Gaffney’s Article 3 and Article 8 rights if she was returned to Hydebank Prison in Belfast.

Gaffney spent a week at the south Belfast prison in 2016 and she feared a deterioration in her physical and mental health if she was returned there for her trial, counsel said. “She is unlikely to get bail so she will spend some time there,” the court heard.

Ms Egan submitted that her client was treated differently in the Belfast prison as she was a “southern Irish Catholic” and some of the incidents that occurred had a sectarian basis.

She was physically and verbally assaulted and was older than most of the prison population, counsel added.

The barrister submitted that Gaffney is an Irish national and moved to Ireland from the UK when she was three years of age. “The respondent is also in recovery from a life-long alcohol addiction of 20 years,” said the lawyer, adding that she was also at risk of losing her family ties if she was surrendered.

In reply, Ms Horgan Jones said there was an absence of “cogent and up-to-date” medical evidence in Gaffney’s affidavit and Hydebank Prison conditions have improved since 2016.

Delivering her judgment today, Mr Justice Donnelly said the handbags were worth a significant amount of money and had not been recovered.

The judge said she was satisfied that there was no basis to prohibit Gaffney’s surrender and made an order directing her surrender to Northern Ireland.

Ms Horgan Jones informed the court that Gaffney is currently serving a sentence with an anticipated release date of August 24 this year and she was also in custody for matters pending before the Circuit Court.

The matter was put back until July 22 and she was remanded in custody until that date.

In 2018, Gaffney was jailed for a year after being found guilty by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of stealing three Chanel handbags from Brown Thomas, Grafton Street in 2015. She had 35 previous convictions for “shoplifting type offences” at the time.