Published 5th Dec, 2022

By Tola Owoyele

Lateef Tiamiyu, a Nigerian living in Dublin, Ireland, was sentenced to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty to several charges, including possession of instruments that could be used for fraud.

According to Sunday World, a Dublin-based newspaper, Tiamiyu was in possession of a machine used to clone ATM cards and 17 magnetic strips.

Some officers from Garda, Ireland’s state police force, had secured a warrant to search Tiamiyu’s home on May 28, 2021, after the Nigerian was identified as the person who attempted to open a bank account using a false passport and utility bill.

After the search, six fake passports that each bore different photographs were recovered from his residence. Tiamiyu was said to have initially refused taking responsibility for anything that was found during the search.

He, however, later admitted to being the owner of all the instruments that were recovered from his residence.

Dominic McGinn, Tiamiyu’s lawyer, had argued that there was no evidence to show that any of the materials found in his client’s home was used for fraudulent activities and suggested that the court was dealing with a possession offence rather than a “widespread fraud”.

While ruling on the matter however, Martin Nolan, the presiding judge, said “he must draw the inference that the only reason someone would have these items is to engage in profitable criminality”.

After the judge’s inference, Tiamiyu was sentenced to two years in prison.

The father of three was said to have been living in ireland since 2012.

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