Gang targeted in CAB raids in Monaghan run by man with links to dissidents
A major cigarette and counterfeit trafficking gang, run by a well-known convicted dissident republican, has been hit in an operation by the Criminal Assets Bureau.
CAB is targeting a portfolio of properties, including homes and sites, that the bureau hope to link to the proceeds of criminal activity.
The 62-year-old gang boss has a long history with the IRA - having served a lengthy sentence - and, in more recent times, has been linked to the Real IRA.
People close to him were shot dead by British police and military agencies during the Troubles.
CAB said the organised crime gang operates along the border region and is suspected of being involved in the wholesale importation of illegal cigarettes and counterfeit goods.
The gang is also thought to be a target of the National Crime Agency in the North, where the man has also been prosecuted.
CAB conducted a major search operation in Co Monaghan this morning, which was deemed to be of sufficient risk to warrant the assistance of the Emergency Response Unit, the Garda elite armed unit.
Eight searches were conducted in the county and in Monaghan town, including six homes and two professional offices of a solicitor and an auctioneer.
Three of the homes were linked to the main target and his immediate family. The gang boss and his wife were in their home for the searches.
Items seized include cash (sterling and euro) totalling €10,000 as well as a quantity of documents and electronic devices including mobile phones.
Evidence of illicit tobacco and alcohol smuggling were also seized, as was a quantity of Viagra tablets.
Sources said the purpose of the operation was to gather evidence relating to the purchase and ownership of properties, separate to the six homes searched.
The portfolio of properties include sites for development and homes. Some of the sites could be at various stages in the planning process and their values are difficult to estimate.
CAB believe this gang imports illicit cigarettes at an industrial level, in shipping containers, from the Far East, and distributes them on both sides of the border and possibly Britain.
The main target is linked with another Monaghan man who CAB seized €500,000 off recently.
