9 Men Found Hiding In Shipping Container At Ireland’s Rosslare Europort

The Irish police are investigating a suspected case of human smuggling after nine men were found in a shipping container at Rosslare Europort in southeast Ireland on the morning of January 27, 2025.

The container is believed to have made at least two stops in European ports before arriving in Ireland.

Emergency services were called to the port around 10:30 am on Monday after one of the men inside the container made a phone call to raise the alarm. Gardai and paramedics arrived at the scene and found nine individuals, who were assessed by medical personnel.

Eight of the men were in good health, while one was transferred to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The group claimed to be from East Africa, possibly Djibouti, and aged between 16 and 23.

At first, communication with them was difficult due to the absence of an interpreter. Gardai suspects the men had been trapped in the container for about five days, including the time spent at the port after the container arrived.

Authorities believe the container arrived at Rosslare Europort last Thursday, shipped from Dunkirk, France. It was unaccompanied, meaning it was not transported by a truck.

Investigators suspect the men entered the container in France, possibly intending to travel to the UK but ended up in Ireland instead.

The Garda National Immigration Bureau is helping with the investigation. Gardai have appealed to the public for information, asking people to contact Wexford Garda Station or the Garda Confidential Line.

Rosslare Europort, located in Co Wexford, is one of Ireland’s busiest cargo hubs. It has direct connections to Europe and the UK and is serviced by major operators like DFDS, Stena, Irish Ferries, Brittany Ferries, and Neptune Lines.

The port has seen rapid growth, with a 53% increase in overall freight in the past two years and a 398% surge in trade with continental Europe. In March 2024, seven Eritrean nationals were found in a trailer at the port. Six of them were quickly returned to their country of origin.

In early 2023, 14 Kurdish migrants from Iran and Iraq, including men, women, and children, were found hiding in a trailer arriving from Zeebrugge, Belgium. Many of that group left state accommodations and remain unaccounted for.

Ger Carthy, a local councillor and advanced paramedic with the National Ambulance Service, was among those who responded to the scene. He added that such incidents, though infrequent, are concerning and may become more common due to global conflicts and displacement.

Tiffy Allen of Places of Sanctuary Ireland, an organisation supporting refugees, said the situation highlights the desperation faced by people fleeing their homes. She discussed the risks migrants take in search of safety and talked about the increasing global displacement, with over 120 million refugees worldwide.

Some migrants found in similar situations have been sent back to the last country they travelled from, while others have been processed through Ireland’s asylum system.

References: Irish Times, RTE

Source: Maritime Shipping News