Dramatic increases in cash confiscations related to drug gang raids have resulted in the Garda’s top anti-drug force delivering significant funds to the national treasury, at times on par with figures returned by the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab). This considerable influx of cash to the exchequer is indicative of the shifting dynamics in Ireland’s criminal underworld, with Gardaí attributing the sizable seizures, often executed in vacuum-packed blocks of banknotes, to these changes.
The Kinahan cartel’s operation in Ireland has been decimated due to comprehensive Garda investigations over the past decade, linked to the Kinahan-Hutch conflict. The downfall of the cartel has been leveraged by several domestic gangs, who have yet to master the practice of cash movement and laundering, inherited from their predecessors in the drug trade.
Recently, the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) managed to return €3 million, seized in cash, to the treasury cumulating from various finalised criminal cases. This figure corresponds to the money recovered by Cab in certain years, though the GNDOCB has also remitted notably larger amounts in different years.
The Cab was formed in the 1990s with the specific objective of managing criminal assets, while the GNDOCB focuses on actively tackling every aspect of drug trafficking and organised crime. The Cab has to construct a case against its targets and demonstrate evidence to the High Court, persuading a judge that the assets they aim to confiscate are indeed crime proceeds. The GNDOCB, in contrast, routinely seizes large amounts of money during its raids and appropriates the funds after the associated criminal charges are resolved.
Since the establishment of the drugs and organised crime bureau in 2015, it has confiscated €20 million in cash and reverted it to the treasury. The cash has been accumulated from a relatively small number of major seizures alongside more frequent minor seizures.
“The chief detective superintendent of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), Seamus Boland, has announced that the overwhelming majority of the €20 million deposited into the government account following criminal court cases is directly related to drug smuggling activities. He pointed out that this money is only a fraction of the total cash exchanged by casual drug consumers nationwide.
Boland further explained that such financial resources serve as investments in severe and structured offences, leading to a rise in drug circulation, violent activities and drug-related threats. He stated that demand is what drives supply.
The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, acting on behalf of An Garda Síochána, will persist in their efforts to target and dismantle any national top-priority precarious criminal networks posing a risk to community safety, Boland added.
Garda Headquarters release an official statement corroborating that the confiscated money was the result of drug transactions committed by individuals now embroiled in life-ruining drug dependencies, alongside recreational users. The statement insisted that drug purchasers should be aware that their actions directly contribute to human suffering and chaos, and to the extravagant lifestyles enjoyed by chief drug traffickers.
Due to the recent surge in cash confiscations, there has been an unparalleled rise in money laundering arrest rates in Ireland. Data indicates that the number of arrests for money laundering conducted in the first three quarters of this year has matched the total number of arrests in the previous year. The arrest count is anticipated to hit between 650-700 by the close of the year, showing a staggering tenfold increase since 2018.
Internal sources within the Garda reveal the increase in money-laundering arrests is linked with An Garda Síochána’s added focus on the identification and investigation of the crime. Even though drugs and firearms were the key focus when dealing with groups engaged in drug trafficking in past investigations, there is now an increased attention towards money laundering activities.”