Six people have been arrested as part of a garda operation targeting organised crime in Dublin.
24 premises were searched across West Dublin, Ballyfermot, Clondalkin, Lucan, Crumlin, and the city centre.
€700,000 has been seized, along with 8 vehicles, and 16 high value watches.
Operation Tara is tackling organised crimes groups having a significant negative impact on communities through the sale of controlled drugs and associated intimidation of vulnerable people, including threats to life.
The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), assisted by other specialised units, including, the Special Crime Task Force (SCTF), the Special Tactics and Operations Command (STOC), the Air Support Unit (ASU), the Dog Unit, the Stolen Motor Vehicle Investigation Unit (SMVIU) and the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), along with personnel assigned to local Garda Síochána drug units based in the West Dublin, undertook a particular operation designed to address drug related issues being experienced in West Dublin and wider afield, including drug related threat to life incidents and other forms of intimidation.
Homes and Businesses
Gardai searched 24 premises yesterday, and say the majority of those are homes, while a small number of businesses were also searched.
A number of vehicles were also stopped and searched.
Several quantities of cash were seized, ranging from about €250,000 to about €7,000, with an estimated total of about €700,000.
200-thousand euro in cash was found in one car, registered in Northern Ireland, travelling North bound on the N3, which was stopped with the help of the Emergency Response Unit.
Five men aged in their 30s and 40s, and one woman aged 33, are being questioned at various garda stations across Dublin, where they can be held for up to a week.
The arrests relate to suspected participation in the activities of a criminal organisation, to facilitate money laundering and drug trafficking, representing an alleged breach of the provisions of section 72 of Criminal Justice Act 2006.
Investigations are ongoing and are assessed to be making significant progress.
Significant Development
Detective Chief Superintendent Seamus Boland, head of Bureau at the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), says: "This operation, led by the GNDOCB, assisted by a significant number of other Garda Síochána personnel, including a number assigned to local drug units located in West Dublin, was designed to make a significant impact on those involved in OCGs who are causing significant damage to communities in West Dublin and elsewhere.
"The seizure of cash, valuable goods, vehicles and particular documents and the associated arrests is considered an important step in An Garda Síochána’s ambition to effectively tackle the criminal groups involved."
Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, An Garda Síochána lead officer with regard to tackling Organised & Serious Crime, says: "Through initiatives such as Operation Tara, criminals who are involved in Organised Crime Groups that threaten the life and welfare of those living in communities throughout Ireland, will experience the determination of An Garda Síochána to ensure they are prosecuted and their organisations dismantled."
