Woman accused of ‘co-ordinated’ people smuggling at Dublin Airport denied bail

A Romanian woman accused of “co-ordinated” smuggling of two Albanian men into Ireland via Dublin Airport within two weeks this month has claimed she was duped.

Mother of one Daniela Rusescu (34), of Old Barn Court, Northampton, United Kingdom, appeared at Dublin District Court after Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) officers arrested her in Terminal 1 last Saturday evening.

On Wednesday, Judge Michael Ramsey noted evidence from GNIB detective Cathal Brady, who successfully opposed bail, citing concerns about flight risk.

Rusescu faces two counts under Section 6(1) of the Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Act 2021 for assisting two males to enter the State on October 10th and 24th this year.

The accused was stopped just after 8.30pm on Saturday following a flight from Barcelona, Spain.

She made no reply to the most recent allegation and, for the earlier offence, answered, “I was not here on the 10th of October. I was in the UK.”

Rusescu, who has yet to enter a plea, listened to the proceedings through an interpreter.

The detective alleged the arrest followed an alleged co-ordinated illegal immigration operation involving flights from Barcelona to Dublin.

On October 24th, an Albanian national arrived on flight FR6874 from Barcelona without a required Irish visa and was refused leave to land. During an examination of his mobile phone, an immigration officer identified a banking app used by “Daniela” linked to a UK number.

[ Woman charged with smuggling men into Ireland via Dublin Airport twice in a fortnightOpens in new window ]

When officers called it, Rusescu confirmed she was travelling with the man and had cleared immigration into the arrivals area.

Officers met Rusescu, who presented a Romanian passport with a UK address. Her mobile phone showed boarding passes for herself and another named passenger, along with a photograph of a fraudulent Irish passport. The image on the fake passport matched the man previously refused entry.

Gardaí allege Rusescu flew from Luton to Barcelona on October 23rd to meet the man before they travelled together to Dublin the following day.

It was alleged that inquiries established that on October 10th, 2026, a second man arrived from Barcelona without a visa and sought asylum, having destroyed a false Irish passport during the flight. Passenger name record data from Ryanair confirmed that Rusescu paid for that ticket in sterling.

The GNIB detective cited concerns that she was unlikely to remain in Ireland for trial because she had no ties to the country and had access to fraudulent travel documents she could use to abscond.

The two men have since left Ireland and gone to the UK after initially applying for asylum.

Defence counsel Paddy Flynn said his client maintained her boyfriend duped her and had used her phone, and disputes claims that she was involved in the co-ordinated effort. He said there was insufficient evidence.

Addressing flight risk, Flynn said Rusescu had family members who would come to Ireland and help her find an address.

However, the judge held the GNIB witness had established his grounds and bail was denied.

The judge remanded Rusescu in continuing custody to appear again on November 4th. Directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions are to be obtained on the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years.