Ireland Case No. 3795Possession of a false instrument, providing false and misleading documentation, possession of a false instrument (UK driving licence) · Co. Dublin · 3 Sep 2025
Algerian man jailed for three years over false Irish passport obtained using murdered woman's identity
Sabouni Abdelhamid, 33, an Algerian national living in London, was sentenced to three years in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to obtaining an Irish passport by claiming to be the son of Catherine Corridan, an Irish woman murdered in London in the 1980s. He was also convicted of providing false documentation and possessing a false UK driving licence.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In courtnot reported
- Verdictnot reported
- Sentenced17 Feb
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports19 statements extracted from the articles
- whatAbdelhamid claimed to be the son of Catherine Corridan, an Irish woman murdered in London in the 1980s, to obtain an Irish passport. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe claimed his name was Soufiane Bouchata when first stopped at Dublin Airport. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe produced a British driving licence in the name of Bouchata. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe was due to fly from Brussels to Dublin and then on to the UK. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe was stopped by authorities in Brussels who took his Irish passport off him after issues were flagged on their system. (irishtimes.com)
- whatIrish authorities were alerted and stopped him when he arrived in Dublin. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThere was a French national living in France by the name of Bouchata, but his details did not match Abdelhamid's. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe used a French identification document and a utility bill with his application to the Department of Foreign Affairs. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThere was no record of Catherine Corridan having any children. (irishtimes.com)
- whereAbdelhamid is of Finchley Road, London, England. (irishtimes.com)
- whenHe was stopped at Dublin Airport on 3 September 2025, having come off a flight from Brussels. (irishtimes.com)
- whenHe applied for the Irish passport online in December 2023. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí contacted Interpol and the Metropolitan Police in England. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHe pleaded guilty to possession of a false instrument, an Irish passport card, at Dublin Airport on 3 September 2025. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHe pleaded guilty to providing false and misleading documentation in relation to the passport application. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHe pleaded guilty to having a UK driving licence which was or which he knew to be a false instrument. (irishtimes.com)
- courtJudge Orla Crowe said a headline sentence of six years was warranted. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceJudge Crowe imposed a three-year sentence backdated to when Abdelhamid was first remanded in custody in September 2025. (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe has one previous conviction under one of his aliases for a similar offence. (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 17 Feb2026Man who claimed to be son of murdered Irish woman to obtain passport jailed for three years
Details the sentencing, the method of obtaining the passport using a deceased woman's identity, the five aliases linked to his fingerprints, and the three-year sentence backdated to September 2025 remand.
convicted, Sabouni Abdelhamid, 33, male, Algerian, named, non-irishSabouni Abdelhamid