Two men plead guilty to people trafficking after major probe in Donegal

Two men have pleaded guilty to a total of 20 charges arising out of a large-scale people trafficking investigation in Donegal.

Eastern Europeans Georgijs Poniza, 37, and Armen Pogosyan, 32, appeared at Donegal Circuit Court where both were due to stand trial.

A large number of witnesses, including Gardai, had been scheduled to give evidence in the trial which was due to last up to six weeks before Judge Jonathan Dunphy.

The case centres around the trafficking of people who were brought into the country to work at a business in south Donegal.

However, just before the trial was due to commence, both accused men changed their pleas to guilty on some of the charges.

Both men have addresses at Assaroe Falls in Ballyshannon, but have been detained in prison after they were arrested by Gardai two years ago.

The charges to which the accused have pleaded include six different counts of people trafficking on various dates for each.

The pair also each pleaded guilty to four other charges relating to money laundering and forgery.

The accused men were both arraigned separately on all charges and pleaded guilty before a jury of 12 people at Letterkenny Courthouse on Wednesday.

The first to plead was Pogosyan - an Armenian national with an Uzbekistan passport - who simply replied 'guilty' after each charge was put to him.

After a lunchtime recess, legal counsel for Poniza, a Latvian national, told the court that he too wished to plead guilty to 10 charges.

Both are charged that between the 11th of December, 2020 and the 8th of April 2022, with the State, they trafficked another person for the purpose of the exploitation of a named person, and in and for the purpose of trafficking him, coerced, threatened or otherwise used force against him, or deceived him, or took advantage of his vulnerability to such an extent as to cause him to have no real and acceptable alternative but to submit to being trafficked.

The pair are also charged that between 18th of December, 2020 and the 5th of June 2022, with the State, he trafficked another person for the purpose of the exploitation of another person, and in and for the purpose of trafficking him, coerced, threatened or otherwise used force against him, or deceived him, or took advantage of his vulnerability to such an extent as to cause him to have no real and acceptable alternative but to submit to being trafficked.

They also pleaded guilty that between 20th of December, 2021 and the 5th of June 2022, with the State, he trafficked another person for the purpose of the exploitation of another person , and in and for the purpose of trafficking him, coerced , threatened or otherwise used force against him, or deceived him, or took advantage of his vulnerability to such an extent as to cause him to have no real and acceptable alternative but to submit to being trafficked.

They are also charged that between 22nd of March, 2022 and the 1st of May, 2023, with the State, he trafficked another person for the purpose of the exploitation of another person, and in and for the purpose of trafficking him, coerced , threatened or otherwise used force against him, or deceived him, or took advantage of his vulnerability to such an extent as to cause him to have no real and acceptable alternative but to submit to being trafficked.

They also pleaded that between 22nd of June, 2022 and the 24th of October, 2023, with the State, he trafficked another person for the purpose of the exploitation of another person, and in and for the purpose of trafficking him, coerced , threatened or otherwise used force against her, or deceived her, or took advantage of her vulnerability to such an extent as to cause him to have no real and acceptable alternative but to submit to being trafficked.

They are also charged that between 22nd of March, 2022 and the 15th of April, 2023, with the State, he trafficked another person for the purpose of the exploitation of another person, and in and for the purpose of trafficking him, coerced, threatened or otherwise used force against her, or deceived her, or took advantage of her vulnerability to such an extent as to cause him to have no real and acceptable alternative but to submit to being trafficked.

As well as the people trafficking charges, Pogosyan and Poniza, also pleaded to money laundering and forgery charges.

They were charged that between March 19, 2021 and January 28, 2022, at Bank of Ireland in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, they engaged in transferring, handling, acquiring, possessing or using property, namely the sum of €135,781.82 or thereabouts that was the proceeds of criminal conduct while knowing or believing or being reckless as to whether of not the said property was the proceeds of criminal conduct.

The pair are also charged than on an unknown date, he made a false instrument, namely a Electric Ireland utility bill in the name of another person with intent to induce another person to accept it as genuine, and to do some act to the prejudice of that person or any other person.

They are also charged that on January 11th, 2023, used an instrument, namely an Electric Ireland utility bill in the name of another person to open an An Post account, which was a false instrument, knowing or believing it to be a false instrument with the intention of inducing some person to accept it as genuine and, by reason of so accepting it, to do some act or make some omission or to provide some service to the prejudice of that person or any othr person.

Pogosyan and Poniza are also charged that between June 20th, 2023 and July 16th, 2023, he dishonestly by deception induced Avant Money DAC yo do an act, namely to open a credit card account in the name of another person, with the intention of making a gain for himself or another, or causing a loss to another.

Pogosyan was represented by Fergal Kavanagh, SC and by Pat O'Sullivan, BL, instructed by solicitor Morgan Coleman.

Poniza was represented by Delia Flynn, SC, with Kathleen Henry, BL and Ernest Smith, BL.

The State was represented by prosecutor Patricia McLaughlin, SC, with Fiona Crawford, BL instructed by Donegal state solicitor, Kieran Dillon.

Judge Jonathan Dunphy instructed that governor's reports be compiled on each accused as well as probation and welfare reports.

Both men were remanded in custody and both cases were adjourned for mention to the next sitting of Donegal Circuit Court on December 9, 2025.