Courts / Dublin / Report
Estonian hitman gets six years for cartel conspiracy
Summary
An Estonian hitman, Imre Arakas, aged 60, was convicted by the Special Criminal Court for conspiring to murder James Gately in Northern Ireland between 3 and 4 April last year. The court found that Arakas had agreed to pull the trigger and had supplied details on how the murder would be carried out, including the use of a silencer. He had been recruited from abroad and had travelled to Ireland for the purpose of the hit. Gardaí prevented the execution of the murder. Arakas pleaded guilty, and the judge noted his cooperation, health difficulties and lack of support in Ireland as mitigating factors. He was sentenced to six years' imprisonment, back‑dated to 4 April 2017, with a combined discount of three years for the mitigating factors. The sentence was imposed by Mr Justice Tony Hunt, with Judges Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin and Cormac Dunne presiding. The conviction was part of a broader effort to disrupt organised crime conspiracies.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Estonian hitman gets six years for cartel conspiracy. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- April 3rd Incident
- April 4th Incident
- April 4, 2017 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2018-12-12 Publication
Why: Mr Justice Hunt said this offence was not carried out in the end because of the excellent work from gardai, who had prevented "another execution type of murder", rather than any constraint by the defendant. CNI source report
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Outcome: Credit: Collins) An Estonian hitman who was contracted by an international crime cartel and boasted to his associates in coded text messages that he would take out his target with "one shot to the head" has been jailed by the Special Criminal Court for six years. Sentencing the defendant today, Mr Justice Hunt sitting with Judge Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin and Judge Cormac Dunne, sentenced Arakas to six years imprisonment, backdated to April 4, 2017 when he went into custody.
Places mentioned
Topics
Related court reports
- 'Brilliant law academic' who stabbed elderly father to death found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity
- 'He told me he loved me, but I just kept stabbing him' - lawyer on trial accused of murdering father
- Mentally ill man who received suspended sentence for harassing barrister contacted her within days of release, court hears
- Former solicitor at prestigious firm pleads not guilty to murdering father by reason of insanity
- Sentence adjourned for broadcaster Brendan Courtney's attacker
- 'I'm going to kill you' - Carjacker held knife to elderly woman's throat
If a fact, identity, locality or legal outcome needs review, email the newsroom with this report's details prefilled.
Email a correction request