Eastern European ‘crime-cash courier gang’ linked to €1 million Dublin haul

Two men – believed to be Ukrainian nationals – were arrested in connection with the money haul from an address in the Knocklyon area of south Dublin.

One of the men is due in court later today while the second man has been released without charge and a file will be sent to the DPP.

Officers at the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau discovered the cash, along with a counting machine and financial ledgers during the raids on Thursday night.

Gardai suspect the cash was amassed by an organised crime gang who have become the leading ‘money-movers’ on the island of Ireland.

It is believed the Eastern European gang are transporting a staggering €2 million worth of crime-cash a month out of the country for homegrown drugs gangs.

The transnational gang are not involved in other forms of criminality and solely focus on the movement of money in and out of the country.

Detectives believe over the last six months they have become the ‘number one’ cash-transfer gang operating in the State and have ties with criminals in most counties in Ireland – as well as across the border.

While the gang offer their couriering service to Irish mobs, they have a separate organisational structure and act solely as money-agents.

This week, gardai released photographs of the cash haul showing bundles of €50 and €100 notes in plastic bags confiscated following raids on Thursday night.

A garda spokesman said the searches were conducted as part of an intelligence-led operation targeting serious and organised crime.

The arrested men, aged 35 and 44, were detained on suspicion of facilitating an organised crime group to commit a serious offence, contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.

Both men are currently detained pursuant to the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 at a Garda Station in the Dublin area.

Gardai said the seizure was made as a result of an ongoing intelligence led investigation targeting serious and organised crime. with officers attached to the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), conducting a search of a residential property.

Two men, aged 35 and 44-years-old, were subsequently arrested on suspicion of facilitating an organised crime group to commit a serious offence, contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.

Both men are currently detained pursuant to the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 at a Garda Station in the Dublin area.

Following the seizure, Garda Assistant Commissioner Justin Kelly said the cash haul showed the levels of profits to be made from organised crime.

“This substantial seizure of cash shows the vast profits being made by Transnational Organised Crime Groups who inflict such damage upon our communities,” he said.

“It should also be clear from this that there is a direct link between personal use drugs consumption and the pernicious activities of such groups.

“We, in An Garda Síochána, are determined to disrupt the drugs networks bringing drugs into our country and to make Ireland a hostile environment for these criminals to operate.

“Targeting such money laundering operations is a key strategy for our organisation, as this removes cash that would otherwise be reinvested by such groups into further criminal activity, and it strikes at the heart of the criminal business mode.”