CAB lead operation targeting individual suspected of laundering proceeds of Kinahan crime cartel
The Criminal Assets Bureau is leading a major operation targeting a criminal “unknown” suspected of laundering the proceeds of the Kinahan crime cartel.
The 32-year-old “poses” as a taxi driver and, though living in Meath, is from Dublin's north inner city, the heartland of the rival Hutch crime group. The individual is suspected of being involved in purchasing properties and lands with cartel funds.
And in a separate operation, the bureau seized two new vehicles from an organised crime group operating in Limerick.
In the first investigation, CAB led an interagency Garda-Revenue operation involving six searches across three counties.
A Garda statement said: “The Criminal Assets Bureau and the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, with the assistance of the Garda Emergency Response Unit, the Garda Special Crime Task Force, the Garda Dog and Revenue Customs Dog Units conducted a search operation targeting the assets and activities of an international Organised Crime Gang involved in the sale and supply of controlled drugs.”
The statement noted:
“Documentation in relation to the ownership of assets, financial documentation, mobile phones and electronic storage devices were seized and are currently being examined by Bureau Officers.
Today’s search operation is a significant development in the CAB investigation and will be seen as a major upset to the network used by this Organised Crime Gang to launder the proceeds of their drug dealing activities.
There were no arrests made.
Sources said the target is an “unknown” in the criminal world, who “poses as a taximan”. The individual is suspected of “financing property”, such as assets, homes and lands purchased using the proceeds of cartel criminal activities.
The six properties targeted were in Dublin, Meath and Waterford. Five of them were homes and one was a professional office. The target lives with his partner in Ratoath, County Meath, which was one of the five homes searched.
Sources said CAB is at the beginning of its investigation and that it will take time to examine property documents, the payments of money and the flow of funds through bank accounts.
In an unrelated operation in Limerick, CAB took action against a burglary gang, seizing two vehicles on foot of a High Court order.
“The vehicles, a 191 registration Audi and a 182 registration Ford were identified as proceeds of crime as part of a Criminal Assets Bureau investigation," a garda statement said.
