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Pakistani native sentenced to two years for impersonating garda and demanding money from escort
Summary
Bilal Idrees, 24, a Pakistani native, was sentenced by the Central Criminal Court to two years' imprisonment for each of two offences committed between 11 and 22 November 2012. He pleaded guilty to theft at an apartment in Dublin on 11 November 2012 and to impersonating a member of the gardaí over the same period. Idrees had been living in Ireland since May 2011, though he had no entry record. On 11 November he visited the apartment of a woman working as an escort, claiming to be a garda and demanding €150 in exchange for "wiping her record". He also made threatening phone calls for several days after the visit. The woman, a foreign national with limited English, later sought help from a social worker and contacted the gardaí. Gardaí arranged a meeting at the apartment, arrested Idrees on 22 November, and he admitted the offences. He had no prior convictions and expressed remorse.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Pakistani native sentenced to two years for impersonating garda and demanding money from escort. Charges or matters: one count of theft at an apartment in Dublin on November 11, 2012 and to one count of impersonating a member of the gardaí on dates between November 11 and 22, 2012; false imprisonment of the woman at the apartment on November 11, 2012 and to demanding money with menaces between November 11 and 22, 2012. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- November 11, 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
- November 11 Hearing Or Sentence
- May 2011 Hearing Or Sentence
- November 22, 2012 Incident
- March 2013 Incident
- 2015-03-02 Publication
Why: Garda Hunt said that because of this and the fact that Idrees was carrying an official-looking badge, which was later discovered to be a security officer's badge obtained from the UK, she had no reason to believe Idrees was not a garda. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: one count of theft at an apartment in Dublin on November 11, 2012 and to one count of impersonating a member of the gardaí on dates between November 11 and 22, 2012; false imprisonment of the woman at the apartment on November 11, 2012 and to demanding money with menaces between November 11 and 22, 2012 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Mr Justice Paul Carney sentenced Idrees to two years for each offence, to run concurrently. He backdated the sentence to March 2013 when Idrees went into custody after his bail was revoked.
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