Crime gang 'laundered millions through illegal dumping'
14/04/2005 - 13:33:37Members of one of Northern Ireland’s 10 biggest crime gangs laundered millions of pounds through illegal dumping, a court heard today.
A husband and wife and haulage contractor, all from Co Fermanagh, are alleged members of the team smuggling waste across the border and into Scotland.
The trio are also involved in the Europe-wide theft of expensive heavy plant machinery, a detective claimed.
Cyril McGuinness, 40, who runs Fermanagh Waste Recycling, Mary McGuinness, 44, and 32-year-old Cormack McCaffrey faced a total of 81 charges including money laundering, handling stolen goods and illegal dumping as they appeared at Strabane Magistrates’ Court, Co Tyrone.
They were arrested following a major investigation involving detectives on both sides of the border and in England.
One of the officers involved in the inquiry, Constable Gerard Lowry, urged the court not to grant them bail because he believed all three would commit further offences.
Around €2.6m has been made in the last 18 months through smuggling illegal waste from the Republic into the North as part of an operation they are all involved in, he alleged.
Mr Lowry said: “This is a major crime gang, identified as one of the top-10 gangs in Northern Ireland who have made vast amounts of money.”
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