Kevin Ahmetay jailed for people smuggling friend into Ireland

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

Kevin Ahmetay was jailed for people smuggling at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, with his 16-month sentence backdated to 5 May; the report was published on 7 November 2024.

Ahmetay pleaded guilty to unlawfully assisting his friend’s entry into Ireland. They were stopped at Dublin Airport after arriving from Italy; the report said Ahmetay carried his friend’s genuine Albanian passport while the friend travelled with a false Bulgarian passport.

Judge Martin Nolan set a three-year headline sentence, reduced it to 16 months in light of mitigation and backdated the term to 5 May. The judge cited deterrence and said Ahmetay was unlikely to reoffend.

The court heard there was no evidence of commercial gain. Defence counsel described Ahmetay as a university student with health and family circumstances, and said he was remorseful; these were submissions and reports presented in mitigation.