A Dublin man who was extradited to Spain 2½ years ago on drugs and firearms offences is in custody in the Netherlands as the State attempts to extradite him back to the Republic to face unrelated charges.
Frederick Thompson (32) was found to be carrying what was alleged to have been an authentic Irish passport under an assumed identity and other false identification papers when detained in a suburb of Amsterdam yesterday.
He has been under investigation by gardaí for more than a year for his alleged role in a fight at the funeral of Dubliner Christopher Warren (35), who died in January of last year.
Thompson, of Loreto Road, Maryland, in Dublin's south inner city, is alleged to have beaten a man at Warren's funeral. He had returned to Ireland several times despite being under formal investigation in Spain.
A European Arrest Warrant was issued about six months ago after the Director of Public Prosecutions directed Thompson be charged in relation to the alleged assault.
He has been travelling between Spain and the Netherlands in recent years and in a joint operation between Dutch police and An Garda Síochána he has now been arrested in Amsterdam following a surveillance operation.
His arrest was delayed because he had begun wearing a heavy beard and the Dutch police who detained him were unsure if they were following the right person.
In October 2011, Thompson told the High Court in Dublin he wanted to be sent to Spain "straight away" after the court approved his extradition there.
His surrender was sought for three offences, including unlawful assembly, which carries a three-year penalty, possession of weapons and arms trafficking, which carries a penalty of two to three years and crimes against public health and drugs offences which carries a penalty of three to nine years.
His extradition to Spain formed part of a wider criminal investigation into Irish figures based in southern Spain near Malaga, which is ongoing.
