Jailed drug smuggler caught with child sexual abuse images on his phone

Isabel Hayes

A drug smuggler who was caught with child sexual abuse images on his phone after he flew €8.4 million worth of heroin into the country on a light aircraft has been given a 21-month sentence.

Ignac Aradi (51) is currently serving a 10-year jail term for his role in flying 60 kilos of heroin into Weston Airport in Dublin between November 28th and December 1st, 2023.

When he was arrested by gardaí who had been tipped off about the drugs being flown into the country, a total of 1,480 child sexual abuse images were discovered on Aradi's phone.

Aradi, of Kecskemet, Hungary, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography.

He has numerous previous convictions outside of the jurisdiction, including embezzlement, theft, counterfeit currency and fraud, as well as the drug importation conviction.

Jane Horgan-Jones BL, prosecuting, told the court that 820 of the images were category one images which depicted scenes of children engaged in sexual activity.

There was also 57 video files in this category, the court heard.

Most of the remaining images were category two, which involves child exposure.

Aradi told gardaí that the phone was his, but he was not aware of the images. The sim card was from Ukraine, the court heard.

Michael Bowman SC, defending, said his client is a Hungarian national. He said Aradi has no previous convictions for this kind of offending.

The court heard that Aradi has five children, one of whom died in a car crash two years ago at the age of 21.

Sentencing Aradi on Friday, Judge Martin Nolan said he would not extend his time in prison. He handed down a 21-month sentence to start from Friday's date.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.