Gardaí have arrested 12 people and seized cash, drugs, jewellery and horses following a series of searches targeting organised criminality in Limerick city and the surrounding area.
Members of the Defence Forces assisted An Garda Síochána in 65 searches that took place at dwellings, businesses and on land near the outskirts of the city.
More than 300 people took part in the raids, including officers from the Criminal Assets Bureau, Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, the Emergency Response Unit, the Armed Response Unit, Regional Dog Unit, Air Support Unit, and Revenue and Customs.
During the operation gardaí seized:
- Six financial accounts, which have been frozen with a total value in excess of €295,000
- Cash valued at €62,500
- Five designer watches
- Three vehicles: A BMW, a VW Tiguan and a Range Rover
- Eight horses
- Documentation, which is currently being examined by the Criminal Assets Bureau
- Cannabis herb with an estimated value of €8,000
- A horse box valued at approximately €10,000
Of the 12 arrests made so far on Tuesday, seven are men and five are women.
Eight of them, five women and three men, were arrested for suspected money laundering offences, two were arrested for suspected drug offences, one man was arrested in connection with breaches of the Control of Horses Act, 1996 and one man was arrested in connection with the possession of an offensive weapon.
A number of them will appear before Limerick District Court on Tuesday.
The searches took place as part of Operation Coronation, which was established to target organised criminality in Limerick city and its environs.
The operation targets organised extended criminality, drug trafficking and the financial returns achieved from this type of activity through money laundering.
