CAB officers raid and dismantle Cavan property
Officers attached to the Criminal Assets Bureau have dismantled and seized property belonging to a convicted criminal in Cavan.
The raid last week forms part of an ongoing CAB investigation aimed at targeting assets, including properties, derived from criminal activity.
The operation follows a successful application to the High Court under the Proceeds of Crime Acts 1996, in respect of various assets in the possession of the male criminal, aged in his 40s.
Uniformed CAB officers gained entry to the gated compound early on March 19, and did not leave until late afternoon, the Celt understands.
Their investigation was prompted by a referral from a Western Region asset profiler who highlighted aspects of suspected wealth accumulated by the man, who is well-known to gardaí.
Most recently the man appeared before the courts on charges of drug possession, and before that was convicted of attempted intimidation or coercion of another person. He has more than a dozen previous convictions, and has spent time behind bars for the sale and supply of drugs in the past.
Associates of the man were among those caught up in a major undercover drugs sting by members of the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU) more than a decade ago, which led to a series of arrests and convictions of persons in almost every major town in the county.
New figures show that, as of the end of February last, more than 1,430 criminals across the country are currently being targeted by CAB officals.
Separately, last year CAB froze €115,000 in a bank account and seized three Rolex watches after carrying out searches at a property in Cavan, supported by North Western Region Detective branch and uniform gardaí, the Regional Armed Response Unit and the Customs Dog Unit.
Other items confiscated include designer goods, Canada Goose jackets, Louis Vuitton bags, €4,480 cash, documentation and electronic devices.
Also last year the High Court appointed a receiver over two properties in Cavan and Monaghan linked to Drogheda-based brothers Owen and Brendan Maguire.
The vacant properties, along with vehicles, cash and a gold Rolex watch, were previously considered the proceeds of crime by the Dublin court.
The properties, at Tullynaskeagh, Co Cavan, and the other in Garran, Co Monaghan, were vacant when seized, in a state of disrepair and deemed uninhabitable.