CAB seizes €60,000 and horse box in raids on man with links to gang boss
OFFICERS from the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) have seized a horse box and a significant haul of cash from a man suspected of being linked to a notorious crime gang boss operating in west Dublin.
The seizures followed raids by the bureau on four addresses in counties Dublin and Wexford yesterday.
The CAB believes the suspect is heavily involved in a racket providing protection for commercial premises in the capital, as well being connected to a gang controlling drug trafficking.
He is also a target for Operation Thor, which focuses on criminals involved in burglaries and thefts nationwide.
The CAB secured a freezing order under the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act, which allowed officers to seize €60,000 in cash from a bank account.
They also took possession of an Ifor Williams horse box as part of inquiries into the ownership of a racehorse, which was purchased in Australia two years ago for €26,000.
Officers carried out searches in Ballyfermot and Finglas in west Dublin, a commercial company in Ballyboughal, north Dublin, and a holiday home, believed to have been purchased by the suspect in Courtown, Co Wexford.
Small items of jewellery and financial documentation were also taken away for further examination.
The searches formed part of an evidence gathering operation, stemming from a sixmonth investigation involving the CAB and the Special Crime Task Force, set up last year to target gangs.
The suspect is well known to gardaí and has previous criminal convictions.
He is said to be linked to a crime boss, whose gang was involved in the past in a vicious feud with rival thugs.
The investigation is part of a crackdown by the CAB on the assets of mid-tier criminals as well as the major gangland targets.
Publishing the CAB’s latest annual report, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan paid tribute to the chief bureau officer, Det Chief Supt Pat Clavin, and his staff “for their dedicated work in targeting the proceeds of crime generated from a range of activities”.
The report showed the CAB used recent legislative changes five times in 2016 to seize assets without court orders.
A reduction in the assets minimum threshold from €13,000 to €5,000 was also utilised 13 times during CAB investigations.
Debts
Mr Flanagan said the changes allowed the reach of the CAB to be extended in response to the increased organised crime threat.
The annual report showed that CAB handed over in excess of €3.8m to the Exchequer last year.
This figure included over €1.4m returned under the proceeds of crime legislation, €2.1m collected in tax debts and €297,000 in social welfare overpayments.