Keane-Collopy gang credit union accounts suspect were used by gang members in Moyross to conceal hundreds of thousands of euro in drugs money

Officers from the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) were last night trawling through credit union accounts which they suspect were used by gang members in Moyross to conceal hundreds of thousands of euro in drugs money. CAB is also investigating a number of property transactions which they suspect were a ruse to launder money.
Three men arrested in the operation were last night released from Limerick Garda stations. Files are being prepared for the DPP.In the swoops drugs and cash amounting to more than e300,000 were found. Further raids will be carried out over the coming days.Chief Superintendent Willie Keane said the operation was the culmination of months of work in what was phase one of the operation.
“We have made good progress and it was geared to target criminal gangs and designed to curb their activities. I hope it will go a long way to do that,” he said.
It also emerged last night that CAB has delivered a detailed questionnaire to a number of households in the city asking them to account for their opulent lifestyles, such as owning expensive cars, while also drawing welfare payments.
The Garda operation began early yesterday when local gardaí, joined by reinforcement gardaí from the southern division and specialist units from Dublin, sealed off main roads. Members of CAB worked on information supplied to them by a specialist profiling unit set up in Limerick to delve into the lifestyle of known gang members, their families and associates. Chief Supt Keane said CAB took possession of a large amount of documentation as well as computer software.
One of the shops raided is run by a known member of the McCarthy-Dundon gang. And one of the men arrested is aligned to the rival Keane-Collopy gang based in St Mary’s Park. A rifle and a handgun were also found in the raids. criminals were asked how they had vehicles worth up to €100,000 parked in front of their homes
The country's most dangerous criminals have been informed that their social-welfare payments are being cancelled. The criminals, who are believed to have accrued millions of euro from illegal means, are now under investigation by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).Until the targeted individuals can provide investigating authorities with detailed and legitimate evidence as to how they acquired the means to purchase numerous properties at home and abroad, top-of-the-range vehicles and hi-fi equipment, their State benefits will cease. On Thursday, CAB officers, accompanied by more than 250 gardai, raided over 120 private dwellings in Limerick in an operation to expose the wealth of the city's criminal gangs.
The criminals, who are members of or associated with Limerick's feuding gangs, were provided with questionnaires by CAB officers to fill out to explain how they had vehicles worth up to €100,000 parked in their driveways and in front of their homes.
Social-welfare payments and benefits from the Department of Social and Family Affairs are now being halted as CAB and the gardai turn the screw on individuals who have until recent months managed to avoid having their financial affairs examined.
Photos of the interiors of homes -- decked out in brand new furniture and fitted with state-of-the-art kitchens -- were also taken by officers.Yesterday, CAB officers and local detectives went to Limerick District Court to secure court orders to hold onto €250,000 which they uncovered in 12 separate locations following searches in Limerick and Clare on Thursday as part of Operation Platinum.
Approximately €230,000 was found in euro notes and the remainder in sterling and US dollars. The biggest amount seized in one location was in excess of €30,000.Judge Aeneas McCarthy granted all applications to allow officers investigate the origins of the cash.Offices of solicitors, accountants, auditors and a credit union were also raided as a detailed examination to uncover an intricate paper trail began, following months of planning.Computers, hard drives, safes, documents, ledgers and credit-union books were all seized. Seven business premises including a shop were also raided.Three men aged in their 20s were arrested, questioned and released without charge. One of the men was arrested on the outskirts of the city after a stolen VW Passat with false plates was found on his property. Another of the individuals from the city's southside is believed to have stored expensive cars for the city's criminals. The third man is from St Mary's Park and is connected to the Keane-Collopy gang.The major operation was planned for several months and CAB officers are this weekend beginning a meticulous examination of the property seized as they bid to uncover the tangled paper trail.