Interpol are in contact with their 195 member countries as they try to help gardaí to identify an elderly man who has been charged with allegedly using passports in the names of two babies born in the 1950’s who died just months after their birth.

Det Garda Padraig Hanley, of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, told Cork District Court that investigations are still ongoing in multiple jurisdictions as they attempt to identify the man who has been in custody since last month.

The man, who speaks with an American accent, was arrested in Cork passport office last month when he was making an application. Gardaí previously indicated that the man has not given them any assistance as they attempt to find out his true identity.

Dt Garda Hanley said the fingerprints of the man are still being circulated by Interpol.

“We have received some responses not from everybody. Investigations are still ongoing with Interpol and internationally. I know for a fact that investigations are still ongoing with the US.”

Det Garda Morris said that the UK’s National Crime Agency and authorities in Canada have returned negative identity responses. They are still awaiting responses from countries such as New Zealand and Australia.

He could not say as yet how many countries have returned negative findings. However, he knows “for a fact” that “no one has said yes” with regard to the identity of the man.

Domestically, Det Garda Hanley said that a number of addresses in Ireland may or may not be linked with the man. Gardaí have also been in touch with the RSA, the Residential Tenancies Board, the ESB and the VHI. A team has been set up to carry out enquiries.

Inspector Pat Lyons applied for a further adjournment of the case as investigations are ongoing. Frank Buttimer, solicitor for the man, said that there will have to be a cut off date as to when a decision is made by the DPP in relation to the case.

Judge Olann Kelleher said that the DPP “can’t make a decision when they don’t know who they man is.”

Judge Kelleher remanded the man in custody until October 24th next when he will appear by video link from prison. The man, who has white

hair and a beard, appeared by video link in court today.

Meanwhile, the man was arrested on September 15th at the passport office in South Mall in Cork. He was charged in the name of Philip Frank Morris of no fixed address, with a date of birth in the 1950’s.

He was charged with two offences relating to allegedly providing false or misleading information in order to obtain a passport

Det Garda Hanley last month told the court that the man allegedly used the name of a baby, Philip Frank Morris, who was born in December 1952 but subsequently died to apply for a passport in Cork.

Det Garda Hanley said that when questioned the man said he was residing in Ireland and needed a passport to leave the country. Dt Sgt Hanley said the man did not co-operate with officers in any way following his arrest.

He said the man held an Irish passport for three decades but only recently obtained a PPS number.

He told Judge Kelleher that they had spoken to the brother of the late Philip Morris who died at the age of four months in 1953.

Last Tuesday at Cork District Court the man was charged with an additional offence. Det Garda Hanley said that the man made no reply when he was charged with providing information or documents on September 11th last at the passport office in South Mall which were false or misleading.

The court heard that the man allegedly had a passport in the name of Geoffrey Warbrook. However, Det Garda Hanley said gardaí have spoken to relatives of Mr Warbrook who confirmed that he died as a young baby in the early 1950’s.

“Both of those two people (Philip Morris and Geoffrey Warbook) died. We have interviewed siblings of both of those people who died in 1952 and 1953. They died within months of their birth.

We are satisfied that he is not Philip Morris or Geoffrey Warbrook (the two names on passports allegedly seized from the man).

There are two passports, one of which has been renewed. Numerous international enquiries regarding fingerprints and photos have been made. V.5015

There are fears that more people will be separated by the introduction of a minimum salary level for those wanting UK family visas. Families living in the UK and abroad have raised concerns about what new rules will mean for them as they try to reunite with foreign spouses. In December, the Home Office, which says migration to the UK is too high, announced a package of measures to reduce net migration, following a spike in arrival numbers. V.5318
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An Ethiopian asylum seeker, who does not speak English, claims he was duped by a senior immigration official into paying an admission of guilt fine when he thought he was paying for bail.Two Western Cape High Court judges have condemned the official`s `deplorable` behaviour, set aside the fine, and ordered the immigration official be taken off the case. Tsegaye Esyas claims Annelise van Dyk treated him like an animal which led to him attempt suicide while in police cells. V.5320
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EREMY MAGGS: I want to stay with crime now. Individuals with a criminal record may be faced with significant challenges when seeking employment, I think that’s a given. Here in South Africa, employers may legally exclude an applicant from consideration for a position if having a clean criminal record is what is termed an inherent requirement of the job. That phrase, inherent requirement, is important, but what exactly does that mean, and when can an applicant be lawfully excluded for having a criminal record? V.5321
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As a South African who has adopted a nomadic work lifestyle alongside my wife, Ingrid Lotze, I’ve been an interested observer of South Africa’s snail-pace digital nomad visa (DNV) development process. Despite the optimism surrounding its introduction, the visa seems to miss several crucial marks for digital nomads like us. V.5322
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DA MP says hours lost continue to result in persons being unable to collect their ID documents due to unmanageable queues The DA has been inundated with complaints that the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) systems are offline, resulting in long queues and delayed processing of documents. Through questions posed to the Minister, the DA can now reveal that the DHA has lost over 77 years’ worth of working hours due to system downtime and load-shedding from 2019 to date. Concerningly, this data only relates to hours lost for the application of smart IDs, meaning decades more of working hours could have been additionally lost in other spheres such as passport or visa applications. V.5314
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Home Affairs’ seemingly endless court battles set the department back more than R110-million between April 2023 and the end of February this year. This was revealed in a written parliamentary response by minister Aaron Motsoaledi. He said the department accumulated a litigation bill of R117 692 996.3, higher than the R72 637 944.51 spent the year before. V.5315
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Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) this week revealed that Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) has achieved a ground-breaking milestone by processing more than 10 million passengers over a single financial year. This is the highest number of regional and international passengers processed since COVID-19 V.5316
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In recent years, South Africa has seen a significant influx of immigrants from various African countries, as well as other parts of the world. This has raised important questions about the country`s immigration policies and their impact on job creation for both locals and immigrants. The South African immigration system, like many other countries, is a complex and ever-evolving process that aims to balance the country`s economic needs with its social and cultural interests. Let`s take a closer look at how this system intersects with job creation in South Africa. The South African government implemented the Immigration Act of 2002, which outlines the country`s immigration policies and procedures. Under this act, foreigners are required to obtain a visa or permit to enter, work, or study in South Africa. The type of visa or permit required depends on the intended purpose of the individual`s visit and their country of origin. V.5312
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Due to system downtime and load-shedding, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) lost nearly 141,000 hours of Smart ID application and production time between the 2019/20 and 2022/23 financial years. Minister Aaron Motsoaledi revealed this figure in a recent response to questions raised in Parliament by Democratic Alliance MP Adrian Roos. Motsoaledi provided a breakdown of smart ID production and application hours lost to technical difficulties and load-shedding per province for each financial year from 2019/2020. These disruptions hit home Affairs offices in the Eastern Cape the hardest, with over 34,000 hours to rotational power cuts and system downtime. Mpumalanga offices lost the next-highest number of hours at 17 V.5313
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Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has said the public has shown great support for the final White Paper on citizenship, immigration and refugee protection which appeared in the Government Gazette on Wednesday. Briefing the media, he addressed what he saw as a long-overdue need to replace an outdated Citizenship Act, as well as enact proposed changes to existing legislation. V.5306
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