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Four people are being questioned following the seizure of more than € 2 million in cash and luxury cars at a Co Tipperary car sales firm following a year-long investigation by the Garda and UK police .
Six early morning searches were initiated at two businesses and four homes in Co Tipperary and Co Clare run by the Office of Criminal Assets (Cab), with the support of armed officers from the Emergency Response Unit and specialized units from Garda.
Eighty-five cars, two flatbed trucks and a car hauler were seized from the Co Tipperary auto dealership yard, along with € 21,000 in cash and more than € 200,000 deposited in banks.
Investigators believe that a UK-based gang, controlled by criminal figures in Lithuania and Pakistan, bought a disused Co Tipperary gas station and used it to sell UK-bought or stolen cars.
The criminal gang is also suspected of executing the so-called invoice redirection fraud, in which companies are tricked into transferring money to accounts mistakenly believing that they are paying suppliers.
Most of the vehicles on the Co Tipperary esplanade were immediately seized and transferred in a lowered gondola train to a safe and undisclosed location. If it is found that they are the result of criminal activity, the vehicles will be auctioned.
The year-long investigation of cyber fraud and money laundering, codenamed Operation Bagana, has been carried out in cooperation with the West Midlands Police in the UK.
In a series of simultaneous raids on Dudley and Sandwell near Birmingham, West Midlands police arrested two women and two men, “on suspicion of money laundering and fraud,” a police spokeswoman told The Irish Times.
Cab chief Det Chief Supt Michael Gubbins said the operation was “an example of ongoing cooperation” between Cab, the Garda and UK forces against international organized crime.
“Our activities advance Cab’s mission ‘deny and deprive,’” he said.
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