High Court to extradite man wanted for child trafficking
The High Court has ordered the extradition of a West African man wanted in the Netherlands for allegedly trafficking children from Africa to Europe where they are used as prostitutes.
The Dutch authorities had sought the extradition of Jackson Smith aka Peter Kwame Sarfo, aka known as "the Chairman" (aged 38), They allege that he is involved in the trafficking of children from Nigeria into both Spain and Italy. The man had opposed the making of any such order.
Today at the High Court Mr Justice Michael Peart said that he was satisfied to make an order that Sarfo be extradited to the Netherlands.
The Judge put a stay on that order as Sarfo is currently serving a sentence for a domestic offence and is not due to be released until later next month.
Counsel for the State Mr Patrick McGrath BL said that the Dutch authorities had claimed that between January 2005 and October 2007 Sarfo, acting the head of a criminal organisation, was involved in the sexual exploitation of children and people trafficking at "a national and international level."
Mr McGrath said that the Dutch are claiming that Sarfo arranged for girls from Nigeria to travel to the Netherlands. When there they would seek asylum, and because they were minors they would be put into the care of a guardian.
In the Netherlands it was claimed that Sarfo and others would arrange for the girls to abscond from where they were supposed to be residing, and ended up as prostitutes in Spain and Italy.
Counsel said that Sarfo was also wanted for alleged money laundering, and forging travel documentation.
Counsel said that in relation to the identification of Sarfo there was a lot of evidence that the person being sought by the Dutch authorities was the person before the court.
He said that last September Sarfo was detained in Ireland in relation to a forged Ghanaian passport.
There was also evidence from a member of the gardaí who had prosecuted Peter Sarfo at Drogheda District Court for road traffic offences in 2006.
Counsel claimed that Sarfo had also been identified as a person known as "Peter" by another person who was detained by the Dutch police as part of their investigation.
It was also claimed that information taken from a sim card from Sarfo's phone when he was detained in Ireland last September linked him to a number of others detained as part of the investigation carried out by the Dutch police into alleged trafficking of children for prostitution.
Sarfo had raised several points of objection to any order being made for his extradition.
Mr Anthony Collins SC for Sarfo said that there was an absence of specifics in the warrant for his client's extradition required so that a surrender can take place.
Counsel also argued that a decision had not been taken to charge his client with the offences in respect of which his surrender was being sought.
In an affidavit he claimed that he was Jackson Smith, and native of Sierra Leone. He said that he had gone to the UK in the late 1990's, had worked a number of different jobs there, and had not left that country between 1999 and 2006.
Previously the High Court heard, that following his arrest by gardaí last September, the man denied that he was either Peter Kwame Sarfo or Jackson Smith.
However, the court was told that he subsequently told gardaí: "I am Jackson Smith." The man has also claimed that he is from the west African nation of Sierra Leone and not from Ghana.
After the charges contained in the warrant seeking his extradition were put to him, he told gardaí: "know nothing about this," and said "this is not what I am wanted for".
However today at the High Court Mr Justice Peart in dismissing the points of objection said he was satisfied that the person before the court was the person whose arrest was being sought in the European Arrest Warrant, and was satisfied to make an order for Sarfo's extradition.
