Gardaí have arrested a man and seized drugs and assets during a Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) raid in Waterford city.
Two locations were searched and a man in his 30s was arrested under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and taken to Waterford Garda station for questioning.
The arrested man was one of two targets of Cab’s operation which was focussed on an mid-tier crime gang involved in the drugs trade and handling stolne property, including cars.
Waterford gardaí have been investigating the two men, aged 33 and 27, for a number of years and believe they have been changing the registration numbers of stolen cars and selling on the vehicles to unsuspecting owners.
The men’s lifestyles were profiled by gardaí in Waterford and a report on their unexplained wealth was forwarded to Cab for consideration.
Following an investigation by the bureau in recent months, its officers moved on the targets with the assistance of local gardaí on Tuesday.
The assets seized are believed to be the proceeds of crime include a Volkswagen Arteon 191 registration, valued at about €50,000, and a Volkswagen Passat 151 registration.
Approximately €1,000 in cash was seized along with quantities of cocaine, herbal cannabis and MDMA.
“This morning’s search operation is a significant development in an on-going investigation targeting assets deriving from the proceeds of crime in the Waterford area,” the Garda said in a statement.
“This operation further indicates the effective operation of the Asset Profiler Programme whereby local Gardaí can suggest likely local lower and mid-tier targets for consideration by the Criminal Assets Bureau.”
