Gardaí arrest three men allegedly linked to online romance fraud in the first investigation of its kind in Ireland

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September 14 2020 07:04 PM

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Gardaí have arrested three men today allegedly linked to online romance fraud in the first investigation of its kind in the country.

The arrests are part of investigations into complaints of suspected romance and investment fraud, where one of the victims met “fraudsters” online via a dating site, according to a garda spokesperson.

The victim in the case was then “convinced” to transfer large sums of cash to accounts in Ireland, Turkey, Dubai and Vietnam over a nine month period.

A number of devices were also seized for examination during today’s raids in West Dublin and Navan by Gardaí from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB).

The three men are currently detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007 at Garda Stations in West Dublin and can be held for up to seven days.

“This is a novel investigation as the senders of such emails have never been arrested in Ireland before,” said Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan (GNECB) said.

“To date, the belief would always have been that criminal groups engaged in this activity are operating from outside this jurisdiction. This investigation shows that this is not always the case.”

He said that other victims of this kind of fraud should report incidents to gardaí. ADVERTISEMENT

“It is anticipated that numerous injured parties from all over the world will now be identified. We would encourage other victims of this type of fraud to report incidents to local Gardaí.”

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