Recent armed raids at ATM machines have netted a number of Dublin gangs around €3 million, writes Conor Lally.
The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) has begun examining the financial affairs of Dublin criminals whom gardaí believe have been behind armed robberies of cash from transit vans in the last 10 months.
A number of gangs have netted around €3 million from the raids, which have taken place at ATM machines. New security measures introduced by Brinks Allied in response to the robberies have been opposed by unions.
Garda sources last night confirmed that officers heading Operation Delivery, which has been established to thwart the gangs, have requested assistance from CAB to disrupt the activities of the robbers, and possibly retrieving some of the stolen money, none of which has been recovered to date.
The CAB investigation is initially expected to focus on a very small group of known young criminals based in north and west Dublin. One Finglas gang is regarded as the most organised, and gardaí believe it has been behind most of the recent robberies and has stolen €1-€2 million.
CAB will use its powers of discovery to examine suspects' banks accounts, and to investigate any other paper trail which may reveal if, and how, the stolen money has been laundered, invested or moved off-shore.
Because the recent robberies have involved untraceable bank notes, it will be difficult to identify the money and seize it.
Senior officers are hopeful, however, that if one or two gangs have stolen the bulk of the money, the sheer amount of cash which now needs to be hidden or laundered may assist CAB members in their efforts.
Between 20 and 30 criminals are believed to have had involvement in cash-in-transit raids over the last three years. The Finglas gang has been most active of late.
Operation Delivery, which involves 25 detectives operating from Harcourt Square, was set up in June, and resulted in eight arrests last month.
It was established in response to the recent increase in armed robberies, the worst in 15 years.
The operation is headed by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, backed by the Emergency Response Unit and local gardaí from several west and north Dublin suburbs. CAB has become involved in the last fortnight.
In the eight years since CAB has been established many of the State's more organised criminals have managed to hide their money from the bureau. Increasingly they have been moving it off-shore. This has been done by bringing bags full of cash through Dublin Airport.
Most criminals have opted not to send money out of the State in bank drafts as these leave a paper trail.
Bank drafts for large amounts result in individuals falling under suspicion at the financial institutions where they buy them because documents are required to explain the most recent origins of the money.
Criminals have also begun investing in high-value assets such as sports cars and four-wheel drive vehicles. These are then left unused on the forecourt of a garage owned or controlled by a contact.
When the criminals want money the vehicles are sold.