Kunle Faces Court As Car Seized

dublin | racism & migration related issues | other press

Friday July 29, 2005 02:51

by David Moore

From the Evening Herald

Deport-case
student
halted at
checkpoint

IRELAND'S most
hapless Leaving Cert
student Kunie
Elunhana has been in
yet another scrape
with the law.

Kunie â€” deported to
Nigeria amid an outcry and
then allowed back to sit his
exams â€” has now had his
car seized at a garda
checkpoint.

As Justice Minister Michael
McDowell considers whether to
deport him a second time, Kunie is
now facing an embarrassing court
appearance.

He previously admitted he was
arrested by gardai investigating a
suspected fraud but never charged.

The now 20-year-old, who wants
to do a four-year engineering course
here, is facing a series of road traffic
summonses.

The car he was driving
was stopped at the check-
point, set up as part of Oper-
ation Anvil â€” the Garda's
current crackdown on crime
- at Church Rd, Killiney.
The incident happened
just weeks before his first
Leaving Cert exam, it was
revealed today.
Kunie was interviewed by
Garda Paul Christopher
Byrne, who coincidentally is
passing out at Templemore
today having completed his
year's probation.
It is understood Kunie
told him he had just pur-
chased the car, a 95D-regis-
tered Mitsubishi Colt.
The officer informed him
that he would not be allowed
to continue on his journey.
The vehicle was seized and
brought to Shankill Garda
station where it remains.
Kunie was given the statu-
tory 10 days to produce his
documentation at the garda
station of his choice, which
was Ballyfermot.
Gardai have the power
under Section 31 of the Road
Traffic Act to impound vehi-
cles if they have no insur-
ance certificates or if the tax
is out of date by more than
three months. The latest
incident occurred at 12.30am
on May 30 last.
Kunie has had previous
brushes with the law â€” one
over a road traffic matter in
Dundalk in January 2003
and another in January
2004.
On the latter occasion he
was detained with two other
Nigerians at Dublin Airport
after one of the others alleg-
ediy tried to withdraw cash
using a forged passport.
Kunie told gardai he had
not known the chief suspect
in the case, although he had
been speaking to him
moments before they were
arrested. The chief suspect
produced a false Dutch pass-
port at the bureau and
attempted to have the â‚¬200
paid to him from the
account of an English man.
The teller became suspi-
cious and alerted airport
police. All there were subse-
quently arrested.
Kunie was charged with
not carrying his official ID
card and spent the night in
custody before being
released. He has denied any
involvement in the fraud bid
and said a friend he was
with knew the other man.
Weeks before being
stopped at the Killiney
checkpoint, Kunie told Hot
Press magazine of his
exhaustive list of parties
after his return. "F***ing
hell, it's mad," he revealed.
But he added that he
needs to keep a low profile
to remain here. "The Govern-
ment is watching me now, I
have to take things easy and
not do anything stupid."
Minister Michael McDow-
ell reversed a decision to
deport Kunie in March fol-
lowing a campaign by pals.
He was granted a six-
month visa to return, which
expires at the end of Septem-
ber.