Three men to appear in court today over alleged human trafficking operation at Dublin Airport

Three men will appear in court later today following an alleged human-trafficking operation that was detected at Dublin Airport on Sunday evening.

The three men, aged 28, 56 and 61, were arrested by officers with the Garda Immigration Bureau, assisted by the Garda Special Detective Unit as part of an investigation into international people smuggling. The men are being detained at Ballymun and Coolock Garda stations. Aviation expert Julian Gray told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that those facilitating the smuggling could have been paid as much as €20,000 to €30,000 a head.

Aer Lingus issued a statement on Monday which read: "Aer Lingus can confirm that two of its employees have been arrested by an Garda Siochana at Dublin Airport. "Aer Lingus is co-operating fully with an Garda Siochana in their investigation. As this is an ongoing criminal investigation we have no further comment to make."

Meanwhile Ryanair faced backlash for controversial tweets about the incident. https://twitter.com/Ryanair/status/823607281669521408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw In response to the backlash a Ryanair spokesman said: "While everyone loves our low fares, our social media posts may not cater to all tastes."