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Watches and over €100k cash seized in Westmeath raids targeting Eastern European crime group

Seven properties were searched under warrant yesterday

Today at 17:08

Gardaí have seized a number of stolen vehicle parts, jewellery, watches worth around €50,000 and €104,500 in cash in a search operation in Co Westmeath.

The operation was targeting an organised Eastern European crime group.

Seven properties were searched under warrant yesterday as part of an ongoing investigation into the activities of the criminal group, with gardaí recovering the sums of cash, vehicle parts, jewellery and watches.

A number of financial accounts containing more than €80,000 were also frozen as part of the investigation.

A man in his 40s and a woman in her 30s were arrested yesterday under the under the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act and detained for questioning under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a garda station in the midlands.

Both have since been released without charge and files will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

A further three searches were carried out in Mullingar this morning where a stolen car was recovered and a man in his 20s was arrested.

He has since been charged and brought before the courts.

Investigations are ongoing, a garda spokesperson said.

The operation was led by members of the Meath / Westmeath Divisional Crime Hub supported by Gardaí attached to Westmeath Community Engagement, Stolen Motor Vehicle Investigation Unit (SMVIU) of NCBI, Department of Social Protection, Westmeath Divisional Scenes of Crime Unit, Garda Dog Unit and the Eastern Region Armed Support Unit.