Three held after major organised crime swoop

GARDAÍ have arrested three men in connection with a multi-million euro fraud operation in Donegal, following a major surveillance operation.

Three suspected gang members were detained at a house in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, during a raid on Tuesday morning.

The men, all Romanian nationals, aged 31, 24 and 25, are suspected of being members of what’s been described as an ‘extremely sophisticated’ gang that has over 60 members operating across Europe committing widescale fraud – including internet scams and credit card theft.

Tuesday morning’s operation, led by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB), was the culmination of 18 months of monitoring up to 30 members of the gang flying into and out of Ireland.

The crime network is particularly invested in online fraud. Sources say they have registered companies in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK, and put these businesses online purporting to sell cars. Customers then transfer large sums of cash to buy vehicles that never materialise.

The gang are also ‘ghosting’ other websites, which involves hacking genuine websites selling goods and infiltrating sites’ payments details so that customers inadvertently send their cash to the fraudsters.

They are also involved in ‘invoice redirect’ fraud, in which they send fraudulent e-mails to businesses from existing suppliers, advising them of new bank details.

Detectives also seized stolen documentation from Irish and UK nationals, which the gang were due to use to set up false bank accounts to transfer fraudulently obtained cash. Gardaí believe these documents were pickpocketed.

‘They are non-violent. They know that would lead to prison time. They are well-educated fraudsters with expertise online. They are extremely well-organised, and have stolen millions internationally,’ said a source.

It is understood gardaí are working closely with Europol and the PSNI about the gang’s ‘extensive fraud activities’.

‘Non-violent and well-educated’