Three people have been arrested in a major operation targeting a suspected cross-border diesel-smuggling operation.
A series of raids on houses, business premises, farms and outhouses on either side of the border were carried out today by 150 security staff, including uniformed gardaí, members of the Emergency Response Unit, Revenue officers and the Criminal Assets Bureau, as well as PSNI and British Army personnel.
The raids came as the culmination of a two-month investigation, code-named "Operation Nursery", into smuggling, racketeering and money-laundering in counties Louth and Armagh.
During the raids, three people were arrested and a number of items, including including two cars, three tractor units, documentation and a large quantity of cash, were seized.
The main search centred on a farm just outside Dundalk. Premises in Castlebellingham, Dromad, and Dundalk. A man and a woman were arrested. One man was arrested after PSNI and British Army raids in South Armagh.
It is understood a major diesel-laundering plant was uncovered along the border.
All three people arrested are being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act at Kells Garda Station, Co Meath.