Deported Italian criminal found hiding in Leeds after returning to UK for a third time

Italian national David Enwenfa said he was “missing his children”, who live in the UK, after being arrested at Nowell Avenue on June 25. A fake driving licence bearing his photo and another person’s name was also found.

Prosecuting at Leeds Crown Court, Philip Standfast said the 32-year-old was first deported in 2015 after finishing a prison term of almost four years for dealing in Class A drugs. Within months he was caught trying to board a ferry at Belfast back to the mainland. He was then caught in the UK in 2018 and deported again in 2019. His last known address was Liburn Road, Edmonton, in north London.

Appearing in court via video link from HMP Doncaster, for his latest offending he admitted knowingly entering the UK while being in breach of a deportation order, and possessing a false identification document.

Mitigating, Rachel Webster said Enwenfa was “remorseful and wished to pass on his sincere apologies”. She said there was no evidence that he had used the fake ID document for any purpose.

She said Enwenfa came to the UK when he was 14, was educated at college, had previously been employed in the security sector and settled in London.

For his repeated attempts to come back to Britain, she explained: “He has no ties or money in Italy, he was homeless and struggled to obtain help. His reason to come back to the UK was because he missed his family and children. He understands the seriousness of these offences. He has changed his life around since the drugs offence.

“He desperately wants to see his family and his children.”

Judge Ray Singh told Enwenfa that his words were “hollow” and knew that he unlawfully entered the UK, saying it was “fairly obvious”. He added: “This must merit an immediate custodial sentence. You have made concerted efforts to to return to this country.”

He jailed him for two years. It is expected that Enwenfa will be deported again once he is released from prison.