Chinese Nationals Found Hiding in Airport Bathroom to Avoid Deportation

Shannon Airport security was in for a surprise late Tuesday night when they discovered a pair of immigrants were hiding in terminal restrooms after a Ryanair flight touched down in Ireland. They have been charged with immigration offenses and will remain in police custody until more information about them comes to light.

“Toilets In The Terminal”

Chinese nationals Lin Delin (30) and Li Hu (26) managed to get on a flight from Girona, Spain to Shannon, Ireland. Following their stowaway flight, the men hid inside the restrooms at the airport's terminal around 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday night.

Detective Ciaran Keoghan was patrolling the airport when he spotted the two men hiding inside each restroom:

“The two seconded themselves in the toilets in the terminal building and I had to go check the toilets and I found one man in the ladies and one man in the gents...We would always check the toilets after flights.”

The pair was escorted to Shannon Garda station following their capture. Delin noted to police that he was claiming asylum. Remnants of a Japanese passport were found in one of the restrooms, but both Chinese nationals claim the passport doesn't belong to them. Aside from the passport, Keoghan found no documentation from the men.

Later on Tuesday, the men were formally charged with landing in Ireland without proper documentation at Kilrush District Court. According to the Immigration Act 2004, a passport is required for an immigrant to be able to fly to Ireland. Then men are to be held at Limerick Prison for the time being.

Judge Alec Gabbett made a statement on Tuesday about keeping the two detained:

“I am remanding Mr Delin and Li Hu, but we have nothing to show that they are those people they say they are. They could be remanded in custody at length and that in itself would be unjust. It is going to cause a lengthy period in custody if we can’t establish who they are.”

Judge Gabbett added that the men seeking asylum from Japan would be "very unusual".

Tara Godfrey, solicitor of the two men, intends to plead guilty on behalf of both men on Wednesday for sentencing at the Ennis Courthouse. As of this writing, Godfrey wasn't seeking bail for the Chinese nationals, but requested a Mandarin translator for the sentencing.
 

It's quite a mystery for how these stowaways have been able to get into Spain, let alone hide in a Ryanair plane to Ireland, as there's no mention of how they managed to travel without documentation. One Norwegian National last month was able to board two flights from Munich Airport just by stealthily walking behind other passengers as they walked through automatic gates.

Shannon Airport's security patrols the building 24/7 and were right to waste no time in capturing the stowaways. According to immigration law in Ireland, the Minister has the right to deport illegal immigrants, but gives said immigrants options beforehand.