A Lithuanian mechanic who was paid €100 a week to strip high-end stolen vehicles so that car parts could be shipped on to Eastern Europe has been sentenced to three years.

Nerigus Flederis (34) who was living in “a filthy caravan with no running water” in McAuley’s Yard, Flemington, Balbriggan at the time, had secured the job after meeting a man in a nightclub.

He told gardaí he was curious when he was asked to work on the expensive vehicles but he didn’t ask any questions. He maintained had he realised the vehicles had been stolen he would not have done the work.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of being in possession of stolen vehicles, an Audi A5, an Audi Q3, a Nissan Qashqai and a BMW 3-series on September 20, 2013. The pleas were accepted on the basis that Flederis was reckless as to whether the vehicles were stolen.

He also pleaded guilty to being in possession of two petrol tanks on the same date in McAuley’s yard.

Flederis who has no previous convictions has been remanded in custody since his arrest as he didn’t have the money to pay bail. He has a six-year-old son who lives in Lithuania with his former partner.

Judge Mary Ellen Ring suspended the last 18 months of the sentence having accepted that Flederis showed no signs of making any profit from “this sophisticated and profitable organisation”.

She congratulated the gardaí for their successful investigation before she commented that the accused had “an essential involvement in a very lucrative criminal enterprise.”

“Without people such as him turning a blind eye these businesses could not prosper,” Judge Ring continued.

Garda Brian Fahy told Ronan Kennedy BL, prosecuting, that gardaí in Balbriggan and Santry had been carrying out an investigation in relation to cars being stolen during burglaries. It was suspected that the vehicles were dismantled before their parts were dispatched onwards to the Eastern European market.

The four vehicles had been stolen from Rathmines, Rathgar and Celbridge in Kildare in September 2013. In most cases the keys of the vehicles had been fished from the owner’s home through the letterbox.

The remains of two Mercedes 3 Series vehicles, license plates and petrol tanks, were also found in a lock-up in the yard. These cars had been stolen in June 2013.

Gda Fahy said the yard was raided following a surveillance operation during which the BMW was followed from Celbridge to Balbriggan.

Flederis was in a shed in the yard when gardaí arrived to conduct a search. He was dirty, which Gda Fahy said, indicated that he had been working on the cars. The four vehicles were there along with the remains of other cars.

Gda Fahy said €3,335 worth of damage had been done to the Audi A5, while there was €2,304 worth of cosmetic damage to the BMW and no damage was done to the Nissan Qashqai.

The Audi Q3, which had been valued at €33,503, was written off as it had essentially been stripped down.

Pieter Le Vert BL, defending, said his client was not making any money from this enterprise or he would not have been living in “a filthy caravan with no running water”.

Gda Fahy agreed with counsel that his client was at the lowest rung of the ladder in the enterprise.

Flederis was arrested and initially said it didn’t matter to him whether the cars were stolen or not, he just wanted to work and never turned down the offer of work.

He later said he didn’t realise the vehicles had been stolen but admitted he was curious. He told gardaí had he known the vehicles were stolen he would not have entered the garage.

Flederis said he received €100 a week to dismantle the cars during which he would remove engines, seats, doors and glass before the parts would be placed in boxes. He was present when a lorry arrived at the yard to take a container and said he was aware that this container was later shipped to Lithuania.

One other man has pleaded guilty and is due for sentence in January, while a third man is due to stand trial.