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Gardai believe the network of companies controlled by the man, who is in his 60s, would have made him a ‘gold-standard’ logistical asset to any crime gang importing large quantities of drugs into the state.
Gardai believe the network of companies controlled by the man, who is in his 60s, would have made him a ‘gold-standard’ logistical asset to any crime gang importing large quantities of drugs into the state.
A Sunday World probe has linked the man to seven separate companies operating in Monaghan, Cork, Kilkenny and Waterford.
Nicknamed ‘The Vet’, the wheeler-dealer was arrested at a service station in the Paulstown area of Co Kilkenny at 10am on Tuesday following a planned surveillance operation.
He had been driving the truck in which the huge drugs haul was later found to be expertly concealed within a secret compartment.
The cocaine was discovered deeply concealed in a refrigerated unit after customs at Dublin Port X-rayed the lorry.
His questioning was continuing at a station in the South East yesterday after his arrest for facilitating the activities of an organised crime gang.
Detectives believe the cocaine was controlled by the west Dublin gang known as ‘The Family’ but believe not all the cocaine was destined for the Irish market.
Gardai believe the man has been heavily involved in crime for decades although he has only a small number of serious convictions.
He is believed to have gotten his start in criminality by cheating customers by under-weighing fuels, the theft of metals and diesel laundering,
‘The Vet’ is also suspected of being one of the first criminals involved in the importation of angel dust (Clenbuterol) into Ireland decades ago.
The stimulant, used in the past by a small number of farmers, builds up muscle on average sized cattle, and has been banned throughout the EU because of health concerns including increased heart rate and tremors
“He was an opportunistic criminal in that whenever the opportunity to unlawfully enrich himself came up, he took it,” a source said.
Over the course of his criminal career, the Vet built up considerable criminal contacts including the likes of Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy and Michael McKevitt through his involvement in fuel smuggling.
He has also been a major target for Revenue over the past 30 years and has had a number of close scrapes with customs officers including trying to obstruct them on occasions.
Of late, he served a sentence in Cork prison linked to the illicit activities involving fuel.
In recent years, gardai came to suspect he was working as an enabler for transnational and national organised crime groups, most notably the west Dublin gang known as ‘The Family’.
And it was this that made him a target for the GNDOCB.
Following his arrest Tuesday. searches were carried out at two business premises and a residential address in Waterford and documents, mobile phones and other electronic equipment were seized.
Gardaí from the GNDOCB and Waterford Drug and Crime Units carried out the searches as part of Operation Tara.
Revenue Customs Service, the Garda Dog Unit and the Stolen Motor Vehicle Investigation Unit also assisted in the operation.
Following the operation, Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis, who is in charge of Organised and Serious Crime, said: “This is a further example of An Garda Síochána’s commitment to target the enablers and facilitators of organised crime.
“}]] A shady businessman held over the seizure of €10.6 million of cocaine had legitimate business interests in areas stretching from real estate and healthcare… Read More
