Two Latvian men charged with fraud offences have appeared at Derry Magistrate’s Court.
Deniss Jassans, 39 and Ilia Racickis, 29, c/o Maghaberry prison, have each been charged with possessing articles in connection with fraud on December 12, 2017.
They both faces five further charges of fraud by false representation for offences alleged to have been committed on December 1-3 of last year. They relate to a Supervalue stores in Richhill, Northside Shopping Centre, Limavady, Tandregee and a Vivo shop in Comber.
It is understood that the defendants are from Latvia and when arrested in Derry had in their possession numerous bank/credit cards which police believe belong to ‘migrant or temporary workers’.
The investigating officer previously stated that he believes the case may have been linked to ‘modern slavery and human trafficking’.
At a court sitting on April 12, a Detective Inspector from Strand Road Police Station applied for twenty-four hours to interview the two men – which resulted in the fraud by false representation charges.
On April 30, a Public Prosecution Service (PPS) representative said delays in the case were ‘no surprise’ given its ‘complexity’. She told the court it involves ‘quite a bit of international enquiries’ which means it is ‘out of (the PSNI’s) hands as such’.
Both men have been listed for a court sitting on May 10 when District Judge Peter King suggested ‘taking their temperatures about bail’ as he would be ‘uneasy’ about leaving them in custody considering there is no timetable for the cases.
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