Suspected Kinahan bagman held as €1.2m cash seized at checkpoint
A BUSINESSMAN caught with a €1.2m cash haul concealed inside his car is being investigated on suspicion of laundering money for the Kinahan crime gang.
The man was stopped during a random checkpoint in Carlow that was intended to deter rural burglars.
The 50-year-old is known to local gardai, according to sources, but he has no obvious links to organised crime. It is understood that he was driving through the outskirts of Carlow, in an area called Ballyvergal, at 8pm last Friday when he was stopped by a checkpoint set up as part of Operation Thor.
Gardai were astonished to find the huge volume of money packaged inside the vehicle. Detectives suspect that the money was the proceeds of the Kinahan cartel’s criminal operations in Ireland, and was on its way out of the country.
The man was arrested on suspicion of money-laundering offences and taken to Carlow Garda Station.
His period of detention was further extended yesterday.
“During the course of a search, gardai discovered a large quantity of cash, amounting to approximately €1.2m,” said a garda spokeswoman.
“A man was arrested on suspicion of committing an offence under the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing) Act, 2010. He is currently detained under the provisions of section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984, as amended at Carlow Garda Station.”
The haul is one of the biggest cash seizures in recent times — and will be hailed as a significant blow to the Kinahan gang.
The cartel has lost millions of euro in potential drugs earnings here, either as a result of cash seizures by gardai or in intercepted drugs shipments.
The haul is also a significant find for the gardai. The officers who were on duty when they came across the substantial amount of cash were targeting burglars operating in the area.
Since the Hutch/Kinahan feud erupted in Dublin last year, money-laundering operations have been shut down, European arrest warrants have been issued against fugitive gang members and the CAB is investigating the gang’s finances.
The latest seizure comes as gardai say they have prevented a significant number of murders linked to the Kinahan-Hutch feud. More than 30 lives had been saved in the 18 months since the feud erupted by gardai foiling planned gangland hits. However 12 people have been murdered in the feud so far
Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll said the Special Crime Operations unit had intercepted perpetrators and seized weapons including three assault rifles, two submachine guns, six semi-automatic pistols and two shotguns.
The Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau has seized more money, guns and ammunition in the first seven months of this year than it did in all of last year. Gardai said much of this belonged to the Kinahan gang, and includes another €1.3m prior to this weekend’s haul, which almost doubles the amount of suspected Kinahan cash seized already this year.