Ireland Man on trial over leaking of confidential information in Newbridge
Mircea Nitu, a 29-year-old Romanian man from Newbridge, faces an allegation of criminal damage at Newbridge Garda Station on 10 May 2021, where he allegedly sprayed petrol on a garda uniform and attempted to use a lighter. He was arrested and appeared at Naas District Court on 28 July 2021, where the case was adjourned as the DPP was still preparing the file. On 8 October 2021, the defence sought to have the case struck out if no book of evidence was prepared within four weeks, and the matter was adjourned to 4 November for a psychiatric report. A separate Garda probe was launched into the hacking of an HSE contractor in April 2021, which compromised the contact details of 1,119 service users, and a former senior garda was told he has no case to answer in an investigation into the alleged leaking of confidential information to criminal suspects.
- Reported8 Oct
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In court29 Jul
2 reports - Verdict
- Sentenced
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- Mircea Nitu, 29, a Romanian national of Kilbelin House, Kilbelin, Newbridge, faces an allegation of criminal damage at Newbridge Garda Station on 10 May 2021, where he allegedly sprayed petrol on a garda uniform and attempted to use a lighter.
- Where
- The incident occurred at Newbridge Garda Station.
- When
- The incident happened at 9pm on 10 May 2021.
- Investigation
- A Garda probe was launched into the hacking of an HSE contractor on 15 April 2021, which compromised the contact details of 1,119 service users.
- A separate investigation examined allegations that confidential information was leaked to criminal suspects being looked at by a specialist Garda unit, and a second inquiry examined alleged abuse of the penalty points system.
- The HSE is working with An Garda Síochána and the Data Protection Commissioner on the contractor breach, and the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau seized the servers of the gang behind the ransomware attack.
- In court
- The allegation was made at Naas District Court on 28 July 2021, the defendant appeared via video link with an interpreter, and the case was adjourned to 5 August 2021 as the DPP was still preparing the file.
- On 8 October 2021, the defence asked Judge Desmond Zaidan to strike the case out if no book of evidence was prepared within four weeks, and the matter was adjourned to 4 November for a psychiatric report.
- Other details
- A former senior garda officer, now retired, was told by the NBCI he has no case to answer in the leaking investigation, having been arrested two years ago along with other serving Garda members.
- The HSE became aware of a ransomware cyberattack on 14 May 2021 and was forced to shut down all ICT systems, and is still working to restore some systems almost five months later.
50 statements extracted from the articles
- whatA man attempted to use a lighter after spraying petrol in a garda station (kildarenow.com)
- whatMircea Nitu, 29, of Kilbelin House, Kilbelin, Newbridge, faces an allegation of criminal damage at Newbridge garda station on 10 May 2021 (kildarenow.com)
- whatThe defendant entered the station and sprayed petrol on a garda uniform (kildarenow.com)
- whatAn attempt was made to arrest the man and he attempted to use the lighter and spray more petrol (kildarenow.com)
- whatThe contact details of more than 1,000 service users were compromised. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe perpetrators accessed the contact details of 1,119 service users. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe HSE was forced to shut down all of its ICT systems following the ransomware attack. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatA man allegedly tried to set a garda officer on fire. (kildarenow.com)
- whatThe suspect is 29 years old. (kildarenow.com)
- whatThe suspect is a Romanian national. (kildarenow.com)
- whatThe suspect allegedly sprayed petrol and attempted to use a lighter. (kildarenow.com)
- whatThe investigation was into the alleged leaking of confidential information to criminal suspects (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe investigation examined allegations that people being looked at by a specialist Garda unit were supplied with information about the inquiry (irishtimes.com)
- whatA second inquiry examined allegations that Garda members perverted the course of justice through the alleged abuse of the penalty points system (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe suspect's address is Kilbelin House, Kilbelin, Newbridge. (kildarenow.com)
- whereThe incident occurred at Newbridge Garda Station. (kildarenow.com)
- whenThe incident happened at 9pm on 10 May 2021 (kildarenow.com)
- whenThe contractor was hacked on 15 April 2021. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe HSE became aware of a ransomware cyberattack on 14 May 2021. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe incident occurred on 10 May. (kildarenow.com)
- whenHe was arrested two years ago (irishtimes.com)
- investigationThe case file is not completed and gardaí only interviewed the man recently (kildarenow.com)
- investigationA Garda probe has been launched into the hacking of an HSE contractor. (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationThe HSE is working with An Garda Síochána and the Data Protection Commissioner on the breach. (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationThe head of the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau confirmed that the servers of the gang behind the ransomware attack had been seized by gardaí. (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationDetective Chief Superintendent Paul Cleary said the bureau launched a disruption take-down operation in the past two weeks, seizing the technical infrastructure of the gang. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe allegation was made at Naas District Court on 28 July 2021 (kildarenow.com)
- courtThe defendant appeared in court via video link with proceedings translated by an interpreter (kildarenow.com)
- courtThe case is still being prepared by the Director of Public Prosecutions (kildarenow.com)
- courtThis was the third time the defendant was remanded in custody (kildarenow.com)
- courtJudge Desmond Zaidan adjourned the matter to 5 August 2021 (kildarenow.com)
- courtThe case was previously heard at Naas District Court on 28 July. (kildarenow.com)
- courtThe defendant appeared in court via video link. (kildarenow.com)
- courtProceedings were translated for the defendant by an interpreter. (kildarenow.com)
- courtThe defence asked the judge to strike the case out if no book of evidence was prepared within four weeks. (kildarenow.com)
- courtThe case was adjourned to 4 November to allow a psychiatric report to be prepared. (kildarenow.com)
- courtThe officer is currently before the courts facing other, unrelated criminal charges (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe third man, who remains a member of the force, is before the courts in connection with the leaking inquiry (irishtimes.com)
- courtAnother man, who has never been a member of the force, is also before the courts arising from the same investigation (irishtimes.com)
- courtA number of former and serving members are currently before the courts charged with allegations relating to penalty points system abuses (irishtimes.com)
- otherAlmost five months after the attack, the HSE is still working to restore some of its computer systems. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe HSE refused to say whether the two hacking incidents could be related. (irishmirror.ie)
- other753 potential unsuspecting new victims would have seen the Garda alert screen and been prevented from a further ransomware attack. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe former senior garda officer was informed he will not face any charges (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe officer is now retired (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe was arrested along with other serving Garda members (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe vehemently denied the allegations from the outset (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe was one of three serving gardaí detained around the same time (irishtimes.com)
- otherTwo of the three have been told they have no case to answer (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe two investigations are completely separate (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 8 Oct2021Former senior garda will not face charges over alleged leaking to criminal suspects
Reports that the former senior garda has been told by the NBCI that he has no case to answer in the leaking investigation, and provides context on the broader inquiry including the separate penalty points investigation.
accused, male - 8 Oct2021Man thought he was stopping 'a vampire,' Garda tells court
Reports the court hearing at Naas District Court where a garda officer gave evidence about the incident, the defence sought to have the case struck out if no book of evidence was prepared within four weeks, and the matter was adjourned to 4 November for a psychiatric report.
suspect, Mircea Nitu, 29, male, Romanian, named, non-irishMircea Nituvictim - 8 Oct2021Garda probe launched into HSE contractor hack
First report of the Garda probe into the HSE contractor hack. Also mentions the separate May 14 HSE ransomware attack, the HSE's ongoing system restoration, and the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau's seizure of the ransomware gang's servers.
victim - 29 Jul2021Man tried to use lighter after spraying petrol in Newbridge garda station
Reports the court appearance of Mircea Nitu at Naas District Court on 28 July 2021, where Sgt Jim Kelly outlined the allegation of criminal damage at Newbridge garda station. The case was adjourned to 5 August 2021 as the file is still being prepared by the DPP. This was the third time the defendant was remanded in custody.
suspect, Mircea Nitu, 29, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Mircea Nitu