An 18-month investigation into Limerick's feuding factions by the Criminal Assets Bureau has paved the way for the seizure of a house worth up to €300,000. Conor Lally reports.
Last week CAB officers went to the High Court where they were granted permission to "freeze" a property at the village of Fedamore, Co Limerick. The house belongs to a 31-year-old Limerick man, Mr Brian Collopy.
He was not in court at the time of the hearing and it is understood he did not know about it. The case is expected to come before the courts again next year, when CAB will seek to begin taking possession of it.
If the bureau is successful the house will then be sold on the open market and the proceeds returned to the State.
CAB has identified a number of other targets in Limerick against whom it is planning to take action in the near future. It is understood that the bureau's investigation in respect of those targets is centred on houses and other assets.
In its action against Mr Collopy, CAB made its case to the High Court by arguing it believes he is a drug dealer. The bureau is applying the proceeds of crime legislation in respect of the house.
Mr Collopy had strong links with the drug dealer Kieran Keane who was found shot dead in Drombana, Bushy Island, Co Limerick, on January 29th. Mr Collopy is also a horse dealer and is the former owner of at least one business.
In September the Food Safety Authority served a closure order on Mr Collopy in respect of a food stall he operated. Closure orders are served when it is deemed that there is, or is likely to be, a grave and immediate danger to public health.
He bought the house for around £60,000 in the 1990s. It is understood it was a cash transaction and there is no mortgage outstanding on it.
While CAB has had officers working in Limerick for the last 18 months, many of those involved in the feud in the city do not have significant assets. Some of the bigger players in the region's drugs scene also owned reputable businesses before they became known as drug dealers.
That means it is harder for CAB to prove their assets resulted from their criminal activity rather than from their legal businesses.
The drug dealer Christy Keane is one such criminal. He is serving a 10-year jail term in Portlaoise prison for drugs offences. While he acquired a property at Singland Gardens, Limerick, some years ago, he did so at a time when he ran a coal business.
Christy Keane is the father of Liam Keane (19) whose trial for the 2001 murder of Eric Leamy collapsed last month. He is also the brother of murdered man Kieran Keane. Five men are currently before the courts charged with the abduction of Keane and his nephew, Mr Owen Treacy.
