Escort accused of €700k earnings from Dublin brothels sent for trial

Tom Tuite

A Brazilian escort accused of having more than €700,000 in suspected brothel earnings in Dublin has been sent forward for trial.

Bruna da Silveira, 25, of Reilly Avenue, Dublin 8, appeared at Dublin District Court and had a 450-page book of evidence served on her by gardaí following an international prostitution investigation.

She and three Brazilian men, facing separate court appearances, had been charged over allegations that 29 vulnerable young women were recruited in Brazil and coerced into sex work in Ireland.

Judge Treasa Kelly noted that the Director of Public Prosecutions directed that da Silveira face trial on indictment.

She granted a return-for-trial order, sending da Silveira forward in custody to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where the case will be listed on March 26th next.

Defence solicitor Michael French said that his client intended to move a bail application at her next appearance.

The accused has yet to enter a plea and was warned to inform the prosecution within 14 days and provide the relevant details if she intends to use an alibi in her defence.

Legal aid was granted, and an order for gardaí to hand over copies of interview videos to the defence.

She and the other defendants were arrested on September 3rd following an operation involving officers from Europol and the Brazilian Federal Police, who assisted the Garda National Protective Services Bureau (GNPSB) in Dublin.

A team of 60 gardaí were involved in the multi-jurisdictional probe. They were refused bail almost two weeks after their arrests.

Da Silveira and the three men, who lived in central Dublin, were charged with money laundering involving alleged crime proceeds in various amounts totalling €2.5 million from March 19th, 2024, to September 3rd last.

She is charged with possessing €737,000 and father of one Vanuti Conrado Skierzynski, 35, who allegedly directed the group, had more than €1.6 million.

He and 33-year-old Renato Gomes da Silva, both with the same address at Capel Street, and Gabriel do Nascimento, aged 26, who lived at Parnell Street, had additional charges for brothel-keeping, organised prostitution at various locations in the State, mainly in Dublin 1, Dublin 7, Dublin 4, and Dublin 8 area.

An earlier bail hearing was told they face allegations related to 10 brothels.

GNPSB Detective Sergeants Andrew Lambe, John Ryan, Alan Lynch, and Michael McGrath told a bail hearing that the four defendants were flight risks with no ties to this jurisdiction.

The investigation witnesses stated that they believed they used the Ireland–UK common travel area to bring the women into the Republic via Belfast to avoid immigration points.

A WhatsApp group allegedly instructed the women on what to say and how to keep their rooms clean, ensuring that customers did not meet.

Det Sgt Lynch alleged that many of the sex workers were coerced and transported to Ireland. Da Silveira was alleged to have profited from these activities and to have controlled finances, while the others had different roles.