EXCLUSIVE | 

Killarney home seized by CAB from alleged tarmac gangster for sale at bargain price

Alleged tarmac gang member’s palatial home goes on offer at a bargain-basement starting price

Yesterday at 17:00

A palatial Killarney home seized by CAB from alleged tarmac gang member Patrick Coffey is to be sold by public auction with a starting price of just €200,000 later this month,

The last-ditch attempt to sell the property, called Anfield Manor, comes more than two-and-a-half years after it was first put on the market by agents acting for the Criminal Assets Bureau at a price of €425,000.

In what is being viewed as ‘the potential deal of a lifetime’ for prospective buyers, bids will be accepted both in person at the Kingswood Interchange on the Naas Road, Dublin, and online, when it goes under the hammer at 4pm on September 27.

Anfield Manor was first placed on the open market at a price of €425,000 in May 2021 – two weeks after the High Court signed off on its transfer to the Bureau.

Seven months later it had failed to sell and CAB was forced to reduce the asking price by a whopping €100,000 in a bid to draw out potential buyers.

But, even priced at a knock-down €325,000, the 2,690 square foot property still wasn’t being snapped up.

At the time, a local source told the Sunday World that the property’s recent history was a major factor in its failure to attract a buyer – in a year when property prices nationally had risen by 12.4 per cent.

“A lot of people would be reluctant to become involved with a property in these circumstances,” the source said.

“Of course, if the price drops enough, that can change.

“In the normal run of events, in a town like Killarney, that house would have been snapped up as soon as it went on the market.”

The palatial Co. Kerry home was given to CAB on April 22, 2021, after the High Court heard Liverpool-mad Coffey (36) was a member of an organised crime gang.

The Bureau claimed in the High Court that the gang targeted vulnerable people in Ireland, Britain and on the continent with work that was considered to be of a poor standard.

The property’s seizure marked the final stage of a five-year investigation into the activities of the gang.

Dubbed Operation Tarmac, it began after the lavish lifestyle, enjoyed by a small number of local people without any apparent legitimate basis, aroused suspicions.

Pictures of Coffey taken from social media showed him enjoying holidays with family and friends in Europe and America.

In November 2017, following extensive profiling and investigations, assets including luxury cars, the house, high-end watches and cash were seized by CAB and local gardaí in one of the biggest such operations ever to take place in Kerry.

At the time, 130 gardaí were involved in raids on several houses.

The inquiry focused on what local profilers and gardaí suspected were bogus home improvement operations.

The bogus home repairs were being conducted nationally but also in Europe with the gang headquartered in Killarney.

It’s understood CAB investigators believe the gang made more than €3.7 million from their operations.

Authorities in several European countries, including France and Italy, repeatedly warned people to be on the lookout for so-called tarmac scammers.

Other items confiscated by CAB arising from the long-running probe included nine high-end cars, including a Mercedes, 12 watches, including Cartier and Rolex, and the contents of four bank and credit union accounts totalling almost €178,000.

Cash totalling over €126,000 was also granted to CAB in the order under the Proceeds of Crime Act by the High Court.

The value of the haul was estimated to have been in the region of €1.2 million.

The sale of Anfield Manor is in the hands of a Dublin-based auction company who describe it as an “outstanding four-bedroom detached house” in a prime location within the town.

The advertisement describes the property as being in “pristine condition throughout” and having the added benefit of a detached garage.

“This property provides a wonderful opportunity to acquire a family home on large private, mature grounds while still being within minutes of Killarney,” it adds.