Man extradited from Lithuania appears in court on theft charges

A 49-YEAR-OLD man has appeared in court after being extradited from his native Lithuania to the North in connection with a number of burglary and theft offences that occurred in the Coalisland area five years ago.

Sigitas Sciukauskis failed to attend court regarding the case in July 2022, having left the North beforehand.

He was subsequently arrested in Lithuania last month before being extradited to Northern Ireland yesterday (Thursday), after three weeks in custody.

Earlier on today (Friday), the defendant was brought before Dungannon Magistrates Court, sitting in Omagh.

Defence counsel, Fintan McAleer, told the court that, when Sciukauskis was granted bail in February 2019, he thought the issue had been dealt with and left the country.

It was further noted that Sciukauskis did not have an appropriate address to apply for bail, but he may have some friends in the area who may be able to support him, should bail be granted.

Mr McAleer continued, “The reason why he is back in the jurisdiction is to specifically deal with these charges, so he should be granted bail.”

The barrister further stated that he believed Sciukauskis would not leave the country, highlighting the fact that, when he left the country in 2019, he had been recently rendered jobless and homeless.

But District Judge Michael Ranaghan refused bail, stating that there was risk of flight on the defendant’s behalf.

Mr Ranaghan then informed Sciukauskis he could appeal this decision at the High Court.

The case is set to return to court on Friday, April 12 for further review.