RESIDENTS OF the tranquil townland of Green Roads on the outskirts of Borris-in-Ossory in Co Laois were stunned to discover a major Garda operation unfolding on their doorsteps yesterday.
The anti-counterfeiting operation centred on a former concrete plant off a rural road in Green Roads, where gardaí uncovered a purpose-built bunker containing counterfeiting equipment.
The raids targeted a sophisticated cash counterfeiting operation, thought to be the first of its kind and scale to be discovered in Ireland.
The operation, which was led by the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation and supported by the Emergency Response Unit, other national support units and local gardaí from Abbeyleix, was initiated following an analysis of increased activity in counterfeiting across Europe.
Four men were arrested during the early-moring raids at the former concrete plant.
Gardaí confirmed that the men are being held for suspected offences under the Theft and Fraud Offences Act 2001 as part of a major cross-border investigation into the counterfeiting of money.
The arrests are the culmination of an extensive operation which has been ongoing for a number of months and which has involved information sharing by a number of international law enforcement agencies including Europol.
Ideally located for anyone who would wish to carry out activities unobserved, it is a quiet, isolated rural area.
Local residents were unaware of anything unusual taking place at the location.
One resident said that he was “surprised” that something like this was happening in Green Roads.
He believed the facility had been leased last December and said vehicles could be heard coming and going but nobody took any notice.
Another resident said she only became aware of the incident when she heard a helicopter flying overhead and noticed gardaí entering the site.
Across the road from the entrance to the site, another neighbour said he had not noticed any unusual activity at the plant.
The tranquility was shattered yesterday as a number of Garda teams subjected the site to forensic and technical examination. Gardaí at the scene said they were unable to comment on the activities.
The former concrete plant consists of a large warehouse, portable cabins, a silo and a number of assorted 40ft trailers.
The cab of a lorry and a forklift truck were also visible from the road.
The heart of the counterfeiting operation is believed to be under the portable cabin where highly specialised printing equipment is understood to have been found.
Gardaí were continuing to question the four men arrested during the search yesterday. The four men aged in their 40s and 50s have been detained at Portlaoise and Tullamore Garda stations under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.