Posted on 02/19/2005 6:43:39 AM PST by Irish_Thatcherite
Two members of Sinn Fein were being questioned tonight as part of a police investigation into possible IRA links to a major money laundering operation.
They were among six men and a woman detained in Dublin and Co Cork.
More than £2 million was seized but late tonight police in Belfast could not confirm that any of the money was part of the £26.5 million stolen from the Northern Bank just before Christmas.
The Sinn Fein leadership said they were not prepared to make any comment on the cross-border inquiry but politicians from all the main parties in Belfast and Dublin said any republican involvement in the money laundering operation could have catastrophic consequences for the already crisis-hit Northern Ireland peace process.
One of the Sinn Fein members arrested in the raids in Cork is believed to be a former elected representative.
It is understood the man, who is in his 30s, was also engaged as an election worker for the party.
Democratic Unionist Party Assembly Member Ian Paisley Jnr claimed Sinn Fein and the IRA had been caught “red handed” in a massive money laundering operation.
Once again republicans had been caught directing and operating criminal activity “for the purposes of channelling money to their political and military wings”, he said.
Mr Paisley, a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, added: “If any of the money can be directly traced to the Northern Bank robbery, then it will clearly show Sinn Fein/IRA up for the liars and criminals we know them to be.”
He said they would have been proved to be as guilty as “three governments, two prime ministers, two chief police officers, the Independent Monitoring Commission, every democratic political party in Northern Ireland and almost every man and woman believe them to be”.
Two men were arrested in Cork last night – one in Douglas and one in Passage West – and around £60,000 sterling in Northern Bank notes was recovered.
A man and a woman were arrested this morning in the Farran area close to Cork City and, it is understood, up to £2 million sterling in cash was recovered.
Three men – one from Cork and two who are believed to be from Derry – were arrested close to a Dublin train station last night as part of the same investigation. More than 90,000 euro (£62,000) was seized in this operation.
A financier and his wife are believed to be among those being questioned by detectives.
All those arrested are being held under Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act at garda stations across Cork and Dublin.
A garda spokesman said all seven can be held for up to 72 hours before they have to be charged or released.
He said the operation was ongoing and further searches were under way in separate locations in Leinster tonight.
A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokeswoman said they were continuing to work actively with the gardai in connection with the December 20 Northern Bank robbery.
“It is too early to say at this stage if any of the money found was connected to the Northern Bank robbery but both forces are in contact,” she said.
A spokesman for Irish justice minister Michael McDowell said he was aware of the arrests and was being continuously updated on developments.
Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Sam Kincaid, who is in overall charge of the investigation into the Northern Bank robbery, was in Dublin today for talks with senior Garda detectives, where the raid was discussed.
Detective Superintendent Andy Sproule, who is heading the day-to-day operation of the investigation, is expected to travel to Dublin tomorrow.
Around £26.5 million sterling was stolen from the Northern Bank in Belfast last December in a raid that has been blamed on the Provisional IRA. But the IRA and Sinn Fein have repeatedly denied involvement.
Sinn Fein said it was not prepared to comment on the arrests until further information emerged.
“Over the last four weeks we have seen people rush to judgment time and time again,” a spokesman said.
“We would urge people to exercise caution on this occasion and allow the truth to come out,”
Ulster Unionist senior negotiator Michael McGimpsey said the time had come for Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish premier Bertie Ahern to exclude Sinn Fein from the political process. a Kenny, the leader of the main Dublin opposition party Fine Gael, said the arrests raised grave questions for Sinn Fein.
“In view of Sinn Fein’s repeated denials of Sinn Fein or IRA involvement in any criminal activity, the leadership of Sinn Fein must make an immediate statement on this development and on its relationship with those involved,” he said.
Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte said the seizure of large amounts of money was an “astonishing development”.
He said: “Whilst we await more details to emerge, it is of extreme concern that the Garda operation was specifically directed at IRA money laundering.
“However, even at this early stage, it appears that today’s events are particularly significant in the context of the Northern bank robbery and subsequent denials by IRA and Sinn Fein.”
The Green Party said there was even more cause for concern about the future of the Good Friday agreement and called on Sinn Fein to give a full and frank explanation.
Leader Trevor Sargent said: “This highlights more than ever the liability which the IRA is to the peace process.
“It is not possible to maintain an illegal standing army without recourse to criminal fund-raising activity.”
Bollocks, I missed the fireworks!
Hello Irregular/troll.
Probably...
Thanks for posting this, I still haven't got the hang of finding these things on my own.
Well this really is the big one isn't it? Finally everyone can see what we've all known for years, it's a bit like when Charlie and his cronies were finally caught out. I mean it isn't like no one knew for decades what was going on but without the proof no one could say any thing, now the cat's out of the bag this is going to turn into an avalanche.
Full kudos to the PDs again, when they were working on Paisley to make a deal with the shinners McDowell suddenly said he wanted a guarantee of no criminality from them. As I recall he was sneeringly derided as a being some sort of opportunist, suddenly he looks like a prophet before his time.
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