ANALYSIS:The proceeds of bank robberies are used by major gangs to strengthen their place in the drugs trade, writes CONOR LALLY
WHEN MINISTER for Justice Dermot Ahern and Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy sit down with the heads of the main banks for security talks today they will impress upon them the range of problems that arise every time a bank hands over a ransom to kidnappers.
Among other things, it will be made clear that every time a gang is successful, it gives rise to copycat attacks.
Bank officials who have given vast sums to a targeted colleague have done so to secure the safety of that colleague’s loved ones being held hostage by armed men.
Senior gardaí have been angered by the willingness of some banks to pay ransoms before alerting the force that a robbery is under way.
However, even these officers acknowledge bank staff have been forced to make decisions under great stress when a gun has, sometimes literally, been pointed at their heads.
But in the long term, gangs will simply be encouraged by ransoms to continue with the attacks. It means the long-term safety of bank staff, and indeed employees in all businesses that store large sums of cash, is undermined.
But that aside, it will also be made clear to senior bank officials that paying ransoms emboldens organised gangs.
Had the gang who held the Ronan family hostage in Kilkenny been successful in their bid to rob €3 million it is highly unlikely they would have retired from a life of crime, happy with their windfall.
The gangs are almost always well known to gardaí for their involvement in the drugs trade. Most use the proceeds of so-called “tiger” kidnap robberies as capital to fund their gangland activities.
They use the cash to source vast quantities of drugs in continental Europe that are smuggled into the Republic to feed the market here.
Guns are also purchased with the proceeds of robberies and are smuggled in via drug smuggling channels. The same weapons are then used to murder people that cross the gangs.
Such killings have exceeded 20 every year in the past five years.
A group of young criminals can set themselves up for years if they pull off just one large raid. More established groupings can bolster their dominance in particular areas by using the proceeds of a robbery to buy weapons arsenals.
A gang that invests most of its wealth in a massive drug shipment that is then seized by gardaí can get back in the game immediately with the proceeds of a large robbery.
They can effectively use the proceeds of bank robberies to recapitalise themselves when they have major unexpected losses.
The economics of organised crime also favours cash-rich criminals willing to buy in bulk.
Even a few hundred thousand euro can go a very long way.
A kilogramme of cocaine can be bought in south and central America for as little as €800. When it gets to Ireland that same kilo has a street value of €80,000.
The haul of cigarettes seized in Co Louth last week was valued at €50 million based on recommended retail prices.
However, because of the bulk of the consignment, and because it was sourced in the Far East on the black market, the haul would have cost the gang involved no more than €3 million-€4 million.
Clever criminals know massive returns are available if the proceeds of robberies are invested wisely. And they are willing to kill anybody who stands in their way.