TWO DELIVERYMEN FOR an Amazon subcontractor have been accused of using their job to help them steal stealing parcels sent to a Dublin apartment complex.

George Adrian Rus, 25, and Onisor Circa, 26, appeared at Dublin District Court today and were held in custody until they can raise €6,000 bail.

The pair, Romanian nationals, were charged with three counts of burglary at the Vesta development in Clongriffin on November 30.

Rus, who had been in the country a month and living in a hotel in Citywest, Dublin, accommodation provided by his employer, has additional charges for possessing stolen items of jewellery.

Circa, with an address at Dunsoghly Close, Finglas, has been in Ireland for five months.

Garda Gary Tuohy objected to bail due to the seriousness of the case and flight risk fears.

He told Judge Marie Quirke it was alleged the two men “falsely claiming to be carrying out deliveries” entered three blocks and were “stealing parcels from each apartment complex”.

Gardaí obtained CCTV footage of two men using a white transit van.

They traced it to a rental company that allegedly gave gardaí the GPS location of the van, showing it was in the Clongriffin area.

The court heard the defendants worked for as a subcontractor for Amazon and were identified by their employer.

Footage

Garda Tuohy told the court he received statements from several injured parties at the apartment development.

In addition, he said, there was footage showing two men entering the buildings.

The court was told that gardaí obtained warrants to search their homes and seized stolen goods and other items of evidential value.

Garda Tuohy said neither had ties to Ireland, and they came here to work for a transport firm and Amazon. He feared they would flee the country if the court granted bail.

When charged, Circa answered, “I made a mistake,” while Rus had no reply. They listened to the proceedings with the aid of an interpreter.

The garda added that Rus had a partner in England, and Circa has said he would return to Romania.

Gardaí were still trying to identify some of the stolen property owners.

The officer agreed with defence solicitor Andrew Broderick that they may now lose their jobs.

He accepted they were not alleged to have entered homes but rather the area beside the front doors of the buildings.

A file has to be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions. The court heard that most of the stolen items had minor value, but the garda had concerns “particularly at this time of year”.

Broderick submitted that Circa lived with his partner in Dublin and came here to start a new life. He pleaded for bail with conditions.

Flight risk 

Judge Quirke said the charges were serious and she noted the flight risk concerns, but they also had the presumption of innocence.

She set bail bonds of €100 each, and she required approval of €6,000 independent sureties for both men, of which half must be lodged in court.

They were remanded in custody with consent to bail to appear at Cloverhill District Court next Thursday.

Once they take up bail, they must surrender their passports and identity documentation, not apply for replacements, notify gardaí of their addresses and stay away from the crime location.

Legal aid was granted.

Reporting by Tom Tuite