US green card holder remanded into further custody after alleged fake passport at Shannon Airport

Sergiu Cristian Lingurar, a US green card holder, has been remanded into custody for a further 13 days after alledgely producing a fake passport at Shannon Airport for a 13-year-old in his company to enter the US on Monday, July 24.

Lingurar, 25, appeared at Ennis District Court on Wednesday, July 26, via video link from Limerick Prison, the Limerick Post reports.

Lingurar, who was arrested on Monday, had initially been remanded in custody on Tuesday after Judge Mary Cashin refused his application for bail.

In court on Wednesday, Sergeant Louis Moloney told Judge Cashin that the incident is "still a fresh matter” and that the investigation into the case “is progressing as we speak."

Lingurar's solicitor John Casey indicated that a bail application will be made in the High Court when he said that a bail application will be made elsewhere for his client, according to the Limerick Post.

Lingurar, a Romanian national who now lives in New York, was arrested on Monday at Shannon Airport where he allegedly produced a fake passport at the US immigration control, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility, for the 13-year-old he said he was accompanying back to the US for a friend.

Sergeant Frank O’Grady said in court on Tuesday that Lingurar arrived at Dublin Airport from the US on Sunday, July 23, and traveled to Shannon Airport with the teen with the intention of bringing him to the US on Monday.

O’Grady said that the case against Lingurar of presenting a false instrument with the intention of inducing another to accept it as genuine contrary to section 29 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 carries a prison term of up to 10 years on indictment in the circuit court.

Lingurar may be facing further charges, O'Grady said in court.

The teen has been taken into care, O'Grady said.

Lingurar’s solicitor John Casey said his client was accompanying the teenager back to the US as a favor to a friend of his father who he only knows by nickname.

Lingurar was not being paid for accompanying the teen, Casey said, apart from expenses.

O’Grady said that Lingurar has no financial means other than the cost of the flight and accommodation and his travel and accommodation were paid for by a third party.

Judge Cashin denied bail for Lingurar on Tuesday after Inspector Paul Slattery argued that Lingurar, who is of no relation to the 13-year-old, has no reason to stay in Ireland and represents a flight risk.