Criminals living beyond official means targeted
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A 211 registration BMW (valued at approximately €50,000) and €12,000 in cash were seized in the CAB operation last Thursday.Image 2 of 2
CAB conducted a search operation in Westmeath last Thursday morning, April 15, with assistance from the Eastern Region Armed Response Unit.There are specially trained Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) profilers targeting local drug dealers and other criminals, Westmeath’s most senior garda officer has revealed.
Responding to a query from Cllr John Dolan at last Monday’s online meeting of the Joint Policing Committee, Chief Superintendent Fergus Healy told the members that there are CAB profilers working in Westmeath who are investigating the assets of local criminals with lavish lifestyles that are beyond their legally obtained means.
“They [the profilers] look at people’s domestic circumstances and the lifestyles that they are living and the wealth that they are physically showing in the community,” said the superintendent.
“We do have an inroad into CAB, and CAB look at these cases and take action when it is appropriate.”
Cllr Dolan said that there are “a lot” of drug dealers locally who have no official form of income except social welfare and are “living fairly good lives”.
Cllr Frankie Keena praised the members of the Drugs Unit for some notable seizures of drugs and cash in the Athlone area recently.
The Fianna Fáil man said that he has worked in the area of drugs awareness for 25 years and was “very strong in encouraging people to share information with garda in a confidential manner”.
Describing the battle against drugs as a “minefield”, Cllr Keena said that intimidation by drug dealers is still an issue in the Athlone area.
Responding to Cllr Keena, Chief Supt Healy said that the Drugs Unit has mad some “significant detections” of drugs and cash in the Athlone area, which were “very much welcomed”.
“When you take cash from drug dealers, it’s their lifeline,” he said.
On the issue of intimidation, Chief Supt Healy said that in the world of drug dealing, the “enforcement of bad debts is normally done through intimidation”.
“This is a problem across the country with respect to the use of force in the underworld. We will work with anyone who comes to us with information and we will take action to prevent intimidation taking place.
“It is something that we abhor and it is the lowest level of behaviour that any person can engage in,” he said.