HOUSE HUNT | 

CAB target mansion owned by glamorous couple cleared of €1m drugs haul

In 2019 the DPP withdrew charges against Natalie Chiper and Eduard Chiper who were alleged to have been in possession of the cannabis.

Today at 17:00

A mansion outside Drogheda is the target of the Criminal Assets Bureau in their case against a glamorous Moldovan couple.

Natalie Chiper and Eduard Chiper are being pursued by CAB after criminal charges against them over an almost €1 million drugs haul in 2019 were dropped.

They had been arrested in January that year after gardaí found €940,000 of cannabis herb in a County Louth premises.

In the High Court today it was heard that a forensic accountant had been engaged, they had agreed to allow documents to be inspected, they were in talks with CAB and that the case was “moving forward.”

However, counsel for CAB said no replying affidavits had yet been received and that to say there were talks is “misconceived.”

Counsel for the couple said that they had wanted access to CAB documents, but Judge Alex Owens said the forensic accountant should be able go ahead with the available information.

Additional affidavits can follow if needed, he said.

The Sunday World previously reported how the couple both spent time in custody before getting bail, the case against them was later dropped by the Director of Prosecutions.

In 2019 the DPP withdrew charges against the husband and wife who were alleged to have been in possession of the cannabis.

They had been charged with being in possession of the drugs with the intent to sell or supply under Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

They were also charged with simple possession of drugs under Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, it had been heard in court hearings at the time.

The couple, who are originally from Moldova but living at The Whitehouse, Tullyard, Ballymakenny, were arrested on January 24 that year after a planned search of the premises was carried out by detectives from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, assisted by officers from the Criminal Assets Bureau and officers from the Co Louth division.

The couple were remanded in custody for a time before they were granted bail after independent sureties lodged large sums of money.

The charges were later struck out at Drogheda District Court.

At an earlier bail hearing a judge approved two independent sureties totalling €30,000 to allow Natalie Chiper‘s release on bail.

At that stage she had already been in custody for four weeks at the Dóchas Centre in Mountjoy.