Freed immigration detainee Emran Dad allegedly contacted minors on TikTok, Instagram

The ex-ringleader of a child exploitation gang released from immigration detention last month has been charged over a string of alleged offences which took place on TikTok and Instagram.

The former ringleader of a child exploitation gang has been arrested in Dandenong after being freed from immigration detention last month. Picture: iStock

The former ringleader of a child exploitation gang who was released from immigration detention last month has become the third criminal asylum seeker arrested since being freed.

The Herald Sun can reveal that Emran Dad, 33, has been arrested in Dandenong amid allegations he has breached his reporting obligations and made contact with minors through TikTok and Instagram.

Dad is a registered sex offender previously alleged by police to have headed a prostitution ring which preyed on children in state care.

He has this week been charged with nine counts of failing to comply with reporting obligations, as well as trespass over an incident in Dandenong on November 24.

The sex offender failed to comply with his reporting obligations by contacting a child without reporting it to police, charge sheets allege.

He was charged for allegedly using a mobile phone service and creating an email, TikTok, Instagram and Bigo account without informing police.

Dad is also charged with trespassing after he allegedly refused to leave a public area on November 24.

The convicted criminal was brought before the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday afternoon wearing a white forensic jumpsuit and white slip on shoes.

Asked to sit down in the dock by security guards, he said, “I’m not doing anything wrong”.

His barrister Bernard Keating said Dad had an intellectual disability and was “not happy about being in custody at the moment”.

Magistrate Fran Medina adjourned the court briefly so Dad could speak with his lawyer.

He made no application for bail, with his barrister telling the court he needed to see a nurse over breathing issues.

The High Court ordered the release of 148 criminal asylum seekers, including Emran Dad. Picture: Gary Ramage

“He says that he had difficulty in breathing, he’s been in immigration detention for a number of years and he said that he had visits to the hospital,” Mr Keating said of his client’s time in detention.

He said Dad had been under the treatment of disability services before he was in immigration detention, but was not currently receiving services.

Mr Keating asked if Dad could return to court on Wednesday, potentially to apply for bail, but Ms Medina said there was no court availability until next week.

Dad, who sat with his hands folded in his lap for the duration of the hearing, stood and nodded his head when Her Honour told him he’d be held in custody until his next court date.

He will return to Dandenong Magistrates’ Court in person on December 14.

It comes after Dad in 2012 pleaded guilty to procuring girls for a prostitution syndicate, a court was told how he once traded a pack of cigarettes for sex with a 13-year-old girl.

A 16-year-old also told the court that Dad drove her to a house where there were several other girls.

Men would arrive and choose a girl to have sex with.

She said they would be paid about $200 each time this happened, depending on the sex acts they would perform.

Dad would receive a separate $150 payment for organising it, she said.

The court also heard Dad and a co-accused had 20 to 30 women and girls working for them at one time.

A Victoria Police spokesperson said Dad was arrested “without incident”.

“Victoria Police can confirm the man is one of the detainees recently released following a High Court ruling,” they said.

“He is currently being interviewed by police and further updates will be provided as the matter progresses.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has quizzed over the futures of Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil. Picture: Martin Ollman

Registered sex offenders living in Victoria are also subject to significant and rigorous reporting obligations as required by the Sex Offenders Registration Act.

“They are required to provide a range of information about their personal circumstances on a regular ongoing basis and may have an individual offender management plan that will differ depending on the level of risk,” the spokesman said.

The revelation about Dad’s arrest today further deepens the crisis engulfing the federal government after the High Court last month ordered the release of 148 criminal asylum seekers being held in immigration detention.

It comes after another sex predator, Afghan refugee Aliyawar Yawari, fronted Adelaide Magistrates Court yesterday on two charges relating to his alleged indecent assault of a woman just weeks after the 65-year-old was released from Yongah Hill detention facility in Western Australia.

Also, on Saturday, NSW police charged yet another recently released detainee, Mohammed Ali Nadari, 45, with drug possession.

Opposition legal affair spokeswoman, Senator Michaelia Cash, on Tuesday grilled the government over the arrest of the third detainee in Dandenong.

In a string of questions, Senator Cash also asked if Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would sack Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil.

“Why can’t your government keep children safe?” Senator Cash asked.

“Can you assure Australians that no one else will become a victim of crime perpetrated by any of the released detainees?”

Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Penny Wong, said everyone in the chamber wanted to keep children safe.

“It is our first priority to work to keep Australians safe and unlike those opposite, who are only interested in fighting about this, we are interested in working to fix it,” Senator Wong said, adding it was finalising a preventative detention model.

“Every single one of these 148 people arrived here before the election. Every single one of these people was still here because Mr Dutton failed to do his job.”

Originally published as Freed immigration detainee Emran Dad allegedly contacted minors on TikTok, Instagram