More than €1 million seized after gardaí stop van in Co Kildare

Over €1 million found in the back of a van during an intelligence-led operation by gardaí was owned by a drugs gang that lost €4 million in cash to the Garda last year.

The family-based group is led by a number of middle aged men from west Dublin. They have previously used the motor trade to launder the proceeds of their crimes and have been investigated in recent years by the Criminal Assets Bureau.

Last year when over €4 million in cash was seized in a number of related searches the family-based gang was linked to the money.

The criminal gang, whose lead members have been known to gardaí for several decades, has grown in size and wealth since 2016 because the Kinahan crime cartel’s operations in the Republic have been under intense investigation.

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In the latest operation against the gang, members of the National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau stopped a van on the M7 in Co Kildare on Friday at about 6.30am. The driver and his load of over €1 million in cash had been under surveillance.

The driver, a 45-year-old from Eastern Europe but working for the Dublin gang, was arrested at the scene when a search of his van yielded the cash haul of about €1 million.

"(He) is currently detained, pursuant to the provisions of section 50 of Criminal Justice Act, 2007, at Portlaoise Garda station," Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin, said in a statement.

He was arrested on suspicion of involvement in “participating in the activities of a criminal organisation, to facilitate money laundering, relating to the suspected proceeds of drug trafficking”.

After the man’s arrest and the seizure of his van and the cash inside it, a number of follow-up searches were carried out in the Midlands. A further amount of money, of about €10,000, was seized during that operation.

Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, who leads the Organised and Serious Crime section of the Garda, said the seizure reflected the force’s determination to pursue those engaged in organised crime despite the policing pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"An Garda Síochána continues to pursue organised crime groups who are believed to be involved in supplying illicit drugs within our communities, the motivation for which is financial gain," he said.

“We again today have made a significant advance in our attempt to dismantle organised crime groups, by locating and seizing the suspected proceeds of their criminal activity.”