£100,000 tax demand for drugs trafficker

A BRITISH drugs trafficker living in Co Cork has been served with a tax
bill for over £100,000 by the Criminal Assets Bureau as part of its ongoing
clampdown on criminals.

The man who is in his late 30s was served with the tax bill some months
ago under the Revenue Acts but he has yet to respond to the demand.

The drugs trafficker moved to West Cork three years ago buying a £200,000
plus home in a coastal town where he lives with his wife and two children.

He later bought a business in the town but sold it last year. The business
appeared to be doing little trade and Gardai believe it was being used as a
front to launder drug money. It is understood that the tax demand was made
against the business.

Although the man is monitored closely by Gardai, he has only been arrested
and convicted on public order and road traffic offences since moving to
West Cork.

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He has nonetheless developed close contacts with a number of Cork city
criminals, including a number of drug dealers operating on the Northside of
the city.

Although members of his gang in Britain have been arrested, it is believed
the man is using his West Cork hideaway as a base to mastermind major drug
shipments into the UK.

The man is also believed to have close drug links with major drug players
in Europe and Interpol are understood to have requested information from
Gardai on his current activities.

The drug trafficker is one of a number of criminal suspects targetted by
the CAB under the Proceeds Of Crime Act or the Revenue Acts. They either
serve tax demands on these suspects or seize their property.

Most of the CAB operations have been run in parallel with the massive garda
investigation into the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin.

Some of its bigger targets have been linked by detectives to the gang
believed responsible for the murder, as well as the importation of £17m of
cannabis through Cork over three years.

The cannabis was brought into Cork using one fictitious company and another
freight company whose management was unaware of the contents of the drug
containers.

Among the CABs high profile targets are John Gilligan, who is currently in
prison in England awaiting extradition on drugs charges and Brian Meehan,
who is fighting a garda bid to extradite him from the Netherlands.

It has also moved against other alleged international drug traffickers
including David Huck who formerly lived in Kilaloe , Co Clare but was
recently jailed in Britain.

Meanwhile in a unrelated operation, Gardai in West Cork arrested three men
over the weekend as part of an ongoing investigation into drug smuggling in
the area.

The three men two locals and a nonnational were arrested early on
Saturday under Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act by Drug Squad
detectives and brought to Bandon Garda Station.

Two were released later on Saturday without charge while the third was
detained over night for further questioning. He was released yesterday
again without charge.