A drugs ‘Mr Big’ arrested in CAB raid

Senior garda says searches dealt a significant blow to drugs distribution in city and county

A MAN arrested last Thursday following a major CAB (Criminal Assets Bureau) search operation in the West Cork area is, according to gardaí, ‘well up the pecking order’ in terms of the sale and supply of drugs.

The searches – which commenced at 4am and didn’t conclude until 5pm that evening – are understood to have dealt a significant blow to the drugs distribution network in Cork city and county.

CAB officers seized €22,500 in cash, six high-powered vehicles including a Range Rover, Kia Sportage, Renault Kadjar, two Louis Vuitton bags, and one Rolex watch, with searches taking place in 11 houses, four business premises, one hotel room and six professional premises.

A total of 21 locations in Cork, including Bandon, and one in Tipperary, were targeted and mobile phones, financial records and business records were also seized.

Restraining orders have also been placed on four bank accounts in various financial institutions in West Cork.

Two arrests were made by local gardaí, one for an outstanding bench warrant, and one for the sale and supply of drugs. A small quantity of suspected cocaine and cannabis herb was also seized.

Speaking to The Southern Star, Chief Supt Con Cadogan said this operation had been in the planning for the past 12 months and he thanked the people of West Cork for their help and co-operation.

‘There was a lot of intelligence gathered from the community in West Cork, with people ringing in with complaints and we took them all seriously,’ said Chief Supt Cadogan.

‘The man arrested is in hierarchial terms well up the pecking order in terms of the supply and sale of drugs in Cork,’ he added.

A total of 124 personnel took part in this search operation, including CAB officers, the garda emergency response unit, the garda dog unit and local detetive and uniformed gardaí, as well as the divisional search team.

A newly-trained CAB profiler in the Cork West division was instrumental in initiating this major search operation.

‘He is specially trained to put the file together and as a result of the work and valuable intelligence gathered from the community, this resulted in the 22 searches.’

Chief Supt Cadogan reiterated that the gardaí  depend on the public for information and intelligence and appealed to  the public to contact gardaí if they have information on drug dealing. He said that the individual is linked to a number of businesses throughout the county and they believe that money is being laundered through these.

A file will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) while CAB will study and analyse all electronic equipment seized.

This is the second high profile, though unrelated, CAB operation in the West Cork area in recent weeks where luxury cars and high-end watches were seized. A total of €1,400 in cash, and records relating to cryptocurrency purchase, were seized from a number of properties, including a house in Aherla, near Crookstown, at the start of the month.

Subscribe to the Southern Star's YouTube channel, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all the latest news and sport from West Cork.