Cash, drugs and cars seized in swoop on organised crime gang
PROPERTIES belonging to a major organised crime gang were without electricity last night following a major Garda raid on their compound in Co Meath.
The raid was one of a number of searches led by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and supported by 80 gardaí.
The gang – made up of members from the Travelling community – is also suspected of having strong ties to the Kinahan cartel.
Yesterday, officers seized three cars, €2,500 of drugs, €1,500 cash, computers, stolen property, phones, an air rifle, jewellery and documentation.
When officers mounted the raid early yesterday, they suspected that three houses within the compound were illegally connected to the ESB network. Staff from the ESB attended the scene, confirmed the properties were illegally connected before making the unauthorised connection safe.
It was subsequently discovered that the cables used in the illegal connection were also stolen. A Garda spokesperson confirmed: “An investigation is being conducted into the theft of electricity from the national grid.”
The criminal gang is suspected of making up to €1m from cash-in-transit robberies in the capital between 2013 and 2016.
It is also involved in largescale heavily organised theft, fraud, money-laundering and burglary offences.
It is also believed they are involved in a multi-million euro international car-theft ring in which vehicles that are being stolen to order across Ireland are shipped out of the country.
In total, five homes in the Ashbourne and Navan areas were searched yesterday morning, along with two professional offices in Dublin.
“The CAB investigation centres on an organised crime gang made up of members of a family based in Co Meath, who are involved in drugs, theft and fraud,” a Garda spokesman said.