<p>
	A notorious child sex predator who arrived Ireland on Friday with a suitcase full of toys is this weekend loose in Dublin city centre.</p>
<p>
	Frenchman Philippe Gandus was stopped by gardai at Dublin Airport on Friday morning after stepping off a flight from Cologne in Germany.</p>
<p>
	He is on an international watch list after being deported from the US and banned from Britain.</p>
<p>
	However gardai were powerless to prevent the 46 year-old from entering the country and he provided them with the address of a city centre hostel he is staying in during his time here.</p>
<p>
	Because of cuts to garda resources he is not being monitored around the clock but an alert has been sent to the relevant stations warning that he is here and is extremely dangerous.</p>
<p>
	Gardai are very concerned about his appearance here and are very worried that he is a high-risk to offend while in the country.</p>
<p>
	They also have no idea how long he intends to stay. Local stations are attempting to keep tabs on him but it is very difficult because of a lack of manpower.</p>
<p>
	He is a known drifter who rarely stays in one place for long and so is very difficult to monitor.</p>
<p>
	When he was quizzed at Dublin Airport and searched his suitcase was found to be full of children&#39;s toys, which alarmed officers because of his past.</p>
<p>
	He was arrested in London in October 2009 after parishioners in Peckham spotted him trying to lead a three year-old boy from a church by the hand.</p>
<p>
	Gandus ran away when he was stopped before police could detain him. He was arrested ten days later after allegedly trying to abduct another child from Hamley&#39;s toy story in the centre of London.</p>
<p>
	He was cleared in court of this offence because it was not captured on CCTV but he was convicted of the first offence. His trial heard that he &ldquo;poses a risk to young children&rdquo;.</p>
<p>
	He had been sectioned under the mental health act for an indefinite period three months before the two child abductions incidents but he fled the hospital which resulted in a major police manhunt.</p>
<p>
	The French national was deported out of the UK after his conviction and banned until 2014. However he was arrested in May 2011 after sneaking back into the country. He was again deported and banned from the country.</p>
<p>
	The following month he was also deported from the US after being investigated for an indecent assault against a minor. He was booted out of the country before being charged.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/crime-desk/notorious-hamleys-child-snatcher-lands-in-ireland">http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/crime-desk/notorious-hamleys-child-snatcher-lands-in-ireland</a></p>
