Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has insisted that Thomas "Slab" Murphy is a good republican and not a criminal, as gardaí and the PSNI continue their investigations into "high-level organised crime" along the Border.
Mr Adams defended the alleged former IRA chief of staff, whose farm and buildings, as well as other houses in the area close to the Border around Hackballscross, Co Louth, were raided on Thursday.
The operation involved about 400 members of the Garda, the PSNI, the Irish and British armies, the Criminal Assets Bureau and Customs and Excise.
About £200,000 in sterling and euro was seized in the raids, as well as 30,000 cigarettes, 8,000 litres of fuel, several oil-tanker lorries, documentation and laptop computers.
Two men and a woman were arrested in the raids but released on Thursday night. The PSNI and the Garda said they did not comment on individuals in such cases. "All avenues of inquiry are being pursued," a PSNI spokeswoman said, adding that it would take considerable time to complete current inquiries given the amount of material seized.
The raids are believed to be linked to an investigation into a £30 million property portfolio in Manchester in which Murphy is also allegedly implicated. "This is part of a much wider investigation into high-level organised crime," the spokeswoman said.
Gardaí would make no comment on reports that up to six tonnes of possibly toxic synthetic chemicals were also seized.
Mr Adams criticised "large sections of the media" for the manner in which the raids were reported, singling out for mention The Irish Times and the Irish News.
"Sinn Féin supports the pursuit of criminal assets wherever that occurs, and we don't have any problem with that," he said. "We are opposed to the big military super-raids, wherever they take place. They could have sent in five guards and five peelers to sort this out.
"I am particularly concerned at the attempt that is in all the media about an attempt to demonise a man called Tom Murphy," he added. "The same thing was done after this Manchester mess when all sorts of outlandish claims were made and treated as fact.
"Tom Murphy is not a criminal, he is a good republican. I read his statement after the Manchester raids [ denying any involvement in criminality]. I believe what he says.
"He is also, very importantly, a key supporter of the Sinn Féin peace strategy and has been for a very long time."
Asked if he believed Murphy was just a farmer, he replied: "Yes, I have no reason to suspect anything else."
Asked if there was evidence that Murphy was on the IRA army council, Mr Adams said: "Whatever about all of that - and there is no evidence to support any of that - I want to deal with what is an effort to portray Tom Murphy as a criminal, as a bandit, as a gang boss, as someone who is exploiting the republican struggle for his own ends, as a multimillionaire. There is no evidence to support any of that.
"If he denies being a member of the IRA then I have to accept that," he added.
And did he? "Yes, I do accept that, but the thrust is about demonising and vilifying. It is about setting aside the huge work that has been done to bring us all to the point where we are at the moment in terms of the peace process. And then to try and portray what's going on as the dregs of a terrorist campaign which is being exploited by these super-duper godfathers."
At his Belfast press conference yesterday Mr Adams unequivocally said smuggling was wrong.
"We support the pursuit of criminal assets," he said. "Anybody who is involved in criminality should face the full rigours of the law, and that includes the right to a fair trial, that includes the right not to be tried by the media."