'Ill-gotten gains' - Gardaí find €200,000 in car after stopping driver in Donnybrook

As part of an operation targeting an organised crime group involved in the sale and supply of controlled drugs and money laundering activities in the Dublin area, Gardaí have arrested three men and seized over €1.28 million in cash in South Dublin.

The arrests were made on Thursday and Friday and included almost €200,000 found during the search of a car in Donnybrook.

The operation was carried out by the Dublin Crime Response Team (DCRT) who stopped and searched a car in the Donnybrook, Dublin 4 area, on Thursday.

Gardaí say: "During the course of the search, €197,760 cash was seized and a man aged in his 50s was arrested in connection with the investigation.

A Garda statement added: "In a follow-up operation in Dublin 2 on the same day, another two men (one aged in his 30’s and one his 40’s) were arrested. All three men were detained pursuant to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984, at Garda Stations in the Dublin Region.

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"During searches of a number of South Dublin properties, Gardaí seized an additional €1,086,175 in cash, bringing the total amount of cash seized in this investigation to €1,283,935."

The three arrested men are expected to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) on Saturday.

Commenting on the investigation, Assistant Commissioner Cliona Richardson said: "This significant seizure of cash will impact the ability of those involved to cause harm in our communities. It not only removes ill-gotten gains from the hands of criminals, but also deprives them of money they would have used to fund further criminal activities.

"The DCRT is committed to keeping our communities safe by continuing to target the proceeds of criminal conduct, with a view to seizing assets and initiating prosecutions in relation to persons engaged in money laundering and associated criminal activity.”