DUBLIN: As part of a crackdown against organised criminals, members of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and detectives have seized a substantial amount of cash and a luxury car. The seizures, which were made yesterday, were designed to target an organised west Dublin-based crime gang.
Gardaí raided a number of residential properties and businesses at various locations across the Dublin area. These included a solicitor’s office, an accountant’s office, and a motor garage. They were carried out by CAB officers who were assisted by local Garda detective units.
During the searches, gardaí seized cash in excess of €60,000, along with documentation and mobile phones.
The CAB also seized a luxury motor car, which gardaí say has a value of anything between €30,000 and €40,000. The car was seized under the recently amended Proceeds of Crime legislation. A Garda spokesman said that no arrests were made during this phase of the ongoing investigation.
Meanwhile, in a separate operation, customs officers seized a significant amount of illegal cigarettes in Dublin yesterday. A spokeswoman for the Revenue Commissioners said they had made the seizure at Dublin Port.
Customers officers discovered 600,000 L & M cigarettes — with a retail value of almost €304,000 and representing a potential loss to the exchequer of €261,000 — hidden in a container which had arrived from the Dutch port of Rotterdam.
