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Black Axe gang member’s home had steel doors to protect huge sums of cash

The property in west Tallaght was the focus of a raid by detectives from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) who seized a cash-counting machine along with numerous other items

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So much cash was being handled in a property that is suspected of being controlled by a main player in the Black Axe fraud organisation that steel doors have been erected at the house for protection, the Sunday World can reveal.

The property in west Tallaght was the focus of a raid by detectives from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) on Monday morning who seized a cash-counting machine along with numerous other items in a detailed search.

Also seized was a top-of-the-range Range Rover which is suspected to have been purchased with the proceeds of crime and is believed to have cost just under €100,000.

“This is one of the most significant search operations against the Black Axe to have ever happened in this country,” a senior source said last night.

As part of the GNECB operation, two men, one aged in his early 20s and a man in his 50s, were arrested in the Tallaght property which is suspected of being a hub of Black Axe activity.

Up to 50 different money mules are identified as having laundered over €196,000 through his bank accounts

The older suspect was arrested for immigration offences as the Nigerian national did not have a valid visa to be in this country.

He is currently in detention and is expected to be deported back to the UK later this week.

“This individual is suspected of acting as a cash courier for the gang in that he was flying regularly between London, Belfast and Dublin for trips in which he is suspected of bringing large amounts of money in and out of the country,” the source explained.

However, he has not yet been charged with offences in relation to this alleged activity.

Also expected to be released without charge is the Irish national aged in his early 20s who was arrested under anti-gangland legislation on Monday.

A file on his alleged activities will be prepared for the DPP.

Investigations have established that he has three bank accounts in his own name which were used for money laundering.

In a statement yesterday, gardaí said: “This male was identified as being a suspected money mule herder, recruiting money mules and managing their bank accounts.

“Up to 50 different money mules are identified as having laundered over €196,000 through his bank accounts in Ireland, Germany and Belgium.

“This money came from victims of mainly smishing frauds in Ireland. It was initially laundered through these 50 money mule accounts and then forwarded by the money mules to the suspect’s three bank accounts.”

Sources stress that Monday’s raid is just one phase of the operation against this particular Black Axe cell and that a main target of the operation has not yet been arrested.

This middle-aged man, who is based in Tallaght, is considered one of the main Black Axe operatives in Ireland and, despite having no previous convictions, he is suspected of being heavily involved in organised fraud for well over a decade.

It is expected that the analysis of 30 mobile phones, a laptop and desktop computer that were seized on Monday could play a key role in building evidence against the suspected fraud mastermind who is closely linked to the man in his 20s who was arrested in the property.

GNECB officers are also studying details of bank accounts, registered companies and businesses linked to the crime network and have also seized a number of passports and bank cards in family names and names of suspected money mules.

When announcing details of the search operation yesterday, a garda spokesman said: “The search was conducted as part of a larger investigation into incidents of fraud in jurisdictions including Norway, Germany, the USA, Hawaii and Ireland and the subsequent laundering of money through money mule accounts, businesses and trade-based money laundering operations.”

Gardaí are a major part of an international operation involving Europol and international law enforcement agencies targeting the Black Axe criminal organisation, which is run in from Nigeria but has tentacles all over the world.

The Nigerian Black Axe mafia syndicate first emerged in the 1970s when it was involved in ritual murders but has evolved into one of the biggest fraud gangs operating across the world, often recruiting intelligent gang members, such as computer specialists, in universities.

Last week gardaí announced that a cross-border investigation into the organisation resulted in 47 people being arrested in Ireland up until May for money laundering linked offences.

Over €400,000 stolen from Irish companies was also recovered.

The investigation, dubbed ‘Operation Jackal’, was led by law enforcement ­agencies across 21 countries on six continents.

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