Gardai, Revenue raid 100 illegal businesses

Illegal immigrants were found hiding under beds in a condemned building owned by a former senior garda when gardaí and Revenue officials raided more than 100 businesses as part of a major new investigation into unregulated commercial activity in Dublin's city centre, The Irish Times has learned.

The immigrants found in the building owned by the former garda were working in small foreign-owned enterprises which had rented space in the condemned structure close to O'Connell Street.

They had locked themselves into rooms in the building, and when officers conducting the searches finally gained access they found the illegal, mostly Chinese, immigrants hiding under beds.

Gardaí, Revenue and health and safety agencies have become so concerned at the level of unregulated commercial activity in the north inner city that a new multi-agency taskforce has been established to tackle it.

The task force is being run from Store Street Garda station.

As well as local gardaí and members attached to the Garda National Immigration Bureau, the taskforce has representatives from the Revenue Commissioners, including Customs and Excise officers.

Officials from Dublin City Council, Dublin Fire Brigade and the Health and Safety Authority also participated.

Around 150 mostly small businesses are being targeted under the operation. Gardaí suspect that virtually all of these are operating outside the parameters of any regulation.

The businesses are either not registered for tax purposes or were paying little or nothing in taxes. A large number are employing illegal immigrants and are not complying with legal wage rates or other employment entitlements.

The companies are also preparing and selling food and alcohol, in most cases with no licences and displaying little if any regard for standards of hygiene.

Many have also adopted the same approach to fire exits and other health and safety issues.

Tony Gregory TD (Ind) said he became aware of the scale of the unregulated activity about six months ago when local traders and businesses in his Dublin Central constituency raised it with him. He was brought to see some of the premises.

"You'd see food and meat being unloaded on to the roadway basically in pretty poor conditions.

"It seemed to me that some form of underworld was operating in unfit, substandard conditions," Mr Gregory said. Fearing a "ghetto" was developing in the area, he raised his concerns with the authorities.

While some of the premises had since closed following a Garda and Revenue crackdown, the activities now being targeted were continuing on a substantial scale.

Most of the enterprises are operating in buildings just off the northern end of O'Connell Street around Moore Street and Parnell Street.

Premises have been searched several times since late last year, and further raids are planned.

A number of people engaged in the unregulated activity are facing criminal charges in connection with seizures of illicit drugs found at some of the small businesses, including crack cocaine and hemp.

Others have been charged with licensing offences relating to the illegal sale of alcohol.