CAB strikes to seize goods from Galway crime gang

THE use of a specialist Garda Profiler played a key role in the seizure of cash, goods and an Audi car from a criminal gang operating from the east side of Galway city earlier this week.

A Garda Profiler attached to the Galway Divisional Drugs Unit had identified a number of individuals in the Ballybane area of Galway city who had the trappings of wealth but with no obvious source of income.

According to Garda sources, close on 100 personnel from the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), the Galway Divisional Drugs Unit, the Regional Armed Support Unit, the Garda Dog Unit and the Customs Dogs Unit were involved in the searches on Tuesday morning.

The operation began around 6am with up to six residences being searched which led to the seizure of €22,000 cash, £4,450 in sterling and an assortment of high-value designer goods.

A 191 Audi A6 car, worth an estimated €45,000+ was also seized in Limerick as part of the same operation while a further €17,000 in bank accounts was frozen from last Tuesday morning.

In a prior operation linked to the same investigation, Garda units had seized another €18,680 in cash, two Rolex watches and had ‘restrained’ [frozen] €66,000 in account funds.

In total between cash, goods and bank ‘freezes’ the total value of the Garda seizures is estimated to be in the region of €190,000.

Read the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now – or download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie