Aisha Ahmed’s extradition rejected over alleged drug importing

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The High Court rejected Italy’s request to extradite Aisha Ahmed on 8 February 2016. Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly ruled that her surrender was prohibited under the European Arrest Warrant Act of 2003, as amended.

Ms Ahmed had been arrested in 2014 on foot of a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Italian authorities. The warrant alleged she was a “promoter, leader and organiser” in an association that imported, sold, distributed and traded cocaine in Italy between 1999 and 2000.

Ms Ahmed was convicted in her absence in 2005. The Court of Naples later sentenced her to 20 years in prison.

The report said that, the previous October, her lawyers had told the court she had not been made aware of an alleged scheduled trial. They argued that notice had been served on her defence lawyer and that this fell short of the requirements for extradition.

At previous hearings, Ms Ahmed had initially claimed mistaken identity, giving her name as Gloria Aro and supplying an Irish passport in that name. At a subsequent bail hearing, however, she admitted it was her name on the arrest warrant.

The court heard she had been on bail on a €1,000 bond. Ms Justice Donnelly ordered that her bail money be returned.