Cork arrest: Gardaí investigating a Provisional IRA money-laundering operation yesterday arrested an eighth person for questioning after they were alerted that he was burning Northern Ireland sterling bank notes at his home in Co Cork.
Detectives moved in yesterday afternoon and arrested a man in his early 40s at his home in Passage West after they received a tip-off that half burned Northern Ireland bank notes were seen near the man's home in the Cork Harbour town.
Gardaí believe the man panicked on Thursday night after hearing that detectives were closing in on those connected with the republican money-laundering operation and that he tried to burn a large amount of Northern Ireland sterling notes in the fireplace of his home.
Officers believe the man simply deposited the money in the fireplace and set it alight but some of the notes were blown up the chimney before they were fully burned and gardaí were alerted yesterday morning that half burned notes were to found near his home.
Detectives raided the man's house yesterday afternoon and found some half-burned Northern Ireland bank notes outside the house while they also found one intact Northern Ireland bank note inside the house.
The notes - which had serial numbers - were put in sealed evidence bags and were removed by gardaí for analysis and examination by Garda technical experts to see if any of them match the money stolen in the Northern Bank raid in Belfast on December 20th.
Gardaí were last night unable to say how much money had been burned by the man in the house but they believe it may have been quite substantial.
Detectives also recovered a box of between 150 to 200 heavy calibre bullets believed to be ammunition for an AK47 as well as two cellophane bags of what is believed to be cocaine worth €10,000 to €15,000 which were all seized for analysis and forensic examination.
Meanwhile gardaí in Cork also took statements yesterday from three businessmen who each contacted gardaí independently and handed in over €225,000 which they had received from a financial adviser who had been arrested in Farran on Thursday morning.