The police raids yesterday on several properties in Manchester are a sober reminder that some things have not gone away.
The satisfaction expressed by almost all people at the recent decommissioning of IRA weapons was never going to be the end of the affair.
Last July when it was becoming clear that the IRA was poised to give up its murder machine, justice minister Michael McDowell issued a timely reminder to the godfathers of republican crime that giving up their guns was not a guarantee that they would be left alone to enjoy their ill-gotten gains.
It has been an open secret for decades, acknowledged by all bar the republican movement, that the IRA paid for its activities, and salted away a large surplus, largely by robbing, extortion, money laundering, fraud, property acquisitions and a variety of smuggling operations.
In parallel with its politico-military activities, in other words, the Provisionals have for many years run an organised crime empire. "The huge assets built up by the IRA during decades of violence on both sides of the Border should be forfeited to the State under the laws of the land," Mr McDowell said after he and the Garda Commissioner, Noel Conroy, discussed how the Criminal Assets Bureau would target the organisation and co-operate with police colleagues in Northern Ireland.
It is clear following yesterday's raids in Manchester and Dundalk that the Cab and the North's Assets Recovery Agency are co-operating as closely and deeply as possible. This is to be applauded and must continue. Gerry Adams dismissed the operations, accusing Alan McQuillan, the head of the ARA, of being "anti-republican" and politically motivated. There is no evidence to support that accusation. However, it is possible to agree with Mr Adams, though to an extent that he will not appreciate. It is a political imperative that assets obtained illegally, whether by robbery, extortion and racketeering, or fraud and corruption, should be seized from those responsible.
It is an even more pressing political imperative that a movement which is seeking to obtain power throughout this island does not have access to such funds to bankroll its campaign. A still relatively small political party like Sinn Féin must not be allowed gain unfair advantage over other parties by having access to superior financing. That is both a political and democratic imperative.
Thomas "Slab" Murphy, the prime target of yesterday's activities according to both Irish and British police, may regard himself as a humble Border farmer trying to eke out a living in the harsh world of diminishing EU subsidies. The problem is that no one else regards him so.
The legitimate authorities in this country, as well as their counterparts in Britain and the North, regard him as a long time and deeply committed republican activist, a fact attested to by his status as an alleged chief of staff of the IRA.