The North’s top crime buster is expected to quit, it was revealed tonight.

Crimefighters have frozen homes, businesses and boats in a Co Down coast village as part of a crackdown on a fish quota scam, they revealed today.

A man alleged to have laundered money earned through suspected fuel smuggling has had assets of more than £400,000 (€589,000) frozen by the Assets Recovery Agency, it was announced today.

THERE was uncertainty yesterday as to whether alleged IRA boss Thomas “Slab” Murphy is engaged in tax negotiations with the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) through a third party.

A serving PSNI officer is being investigated by the Assets Recovery Agency on suspicion of benefiting from the proceeds of crime.

A policewoman is at the centre of a £750,000 (€1.1bn) Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) investigation in the North, it was revealed tonight.

Horses and a petrol station lease have been seized in a new crackdown on alleged fuel smugglers in the North, it was revealed today.

Alan McQuillan was appointed as boss of the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) today in succession to current director Jane Earl.

THE agency set up in Britain to confiscate criminals’ cash and luxury assets was condemned as a ‘mess’ yesterday.

The SDLP is coming under intense criticism over its claim that it influenced the appointment of the PSNI chief constable.

Crimefighters in the North have seized control of a jailed thief's house, car and luxury watches, they revealed today.

The British government is to abolish the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) set up to target and seize the assets of criminals in the North.

The Criminal Assets Bureau took over €16m from criminals and froze property worth €7.3m last year, a report revealed today.

A convicted armed robber today had over £100,000 (€144,100) assets seized by the UK's Assets Recovery Agency after the first court case of its kind in Northern Ireland.

A law introduced to strip master criminals of their ill-gotten gains was used today against a housewife convicted of benefit fraud.

The authorities in the North have seized around £750,000 (€1m) worth of assets from a second-hand car dealer suspected of fraud and tax evasion.

The Assets Recovery Agency in the North has defended itself amid criticism of the amount of money it costs the run the body.

Police in the North have charged a 25-year-old man with murdering suspected drug dealer Patrick Fleming in Co Derry at the weekend.

A 27-year-old man was charged today with withholding information about the murder of a drug dealer in the North at the weekend.

A top drug dealer was stabbed to death in Northern Ireland today.

The ex-wife of a murdered loyalist paramilitary leader has sold her home in the North in order to pay £35,000 (€51,000) to the Assets Recovery Agency, it announced today.

DYLAN CREAVEN was know as ‘Hollywood’ in Limerick’s rugby and social circles because he always drank champagne.

SINN FÉIN president Gerry Adams yesterday defended alleged former IRA chief of staff Thomas "Slab" Murphy, whose farm is at the centre of a probe into a multi-million-euro smuggling operation.

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams today stood by alleged former IRA chief Thomas “Slab” Murphy.

THOMAS “Slab” Murphy insists he is an honest farmer trying to make a living on the Border.

The home of top republican Thomas “Slab” Murphy was searched today as part of a massive security operation to smash a multimillion-pound smuggling racket on both sides of the Irish border.

ASSETS including a helicopter and Jaguar worth about £3.6 million (€5.3m) were frozen by the High Court in Belfast during an investigation into drug, fuel and cigarette smuggling.

A hotel yards from Government buildings was tonight at the centre of a major Garda investigation into IRA money laundering.

ASSETS worth £700,000 (€1.02 million) belonging to two alleged fuel smugglers in south Armagh have been frozen by the Northern High Court.

The Assets Recovery Agency has disrupted the work of almost 30 criminal gangs in the North over the last year, according to British minister Shaun Woodward.

A body representing solicitors in the North was tonight bewildered by claims from Ian Paisley that many lawyers in the North are involved in money laundering for the IRA.

Sinn Féin has attacked DUP leader Ian Paisley over his claim that many lawyers in the North are involved in IRA money-laundering.

The High Court in the North has frozen £400,000 (€590,000)worth of assets belonging to an alleged loyalist racketeer from Kells in Co Antrim.

MPs pledged today to uncover organised crime levels threatening to ruin Northern Ireland’s economic advancement.

SUSPECTS targeted by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) coughed up over €16 million in taxes and interest on undeclared income last year.

The recent wind-down of IRA criminality will not stop the British and Irish governments hunting down its illegal assets, it was claimed tonight.

Criminals paid out more than €16m in tax last year following probes by the Criminal Assets Bureau, it emerged tonight.

Alleged IRA Chief of Staff Thomas “Slab” Murphy today denied he had any connection with properties in Manchester being probed as part of an investigation into the alleged assets of the republican terrorist group.

The Taoiseach and British Prime Minister held talks this afternoon for the first time since the IRA decommissioned its arsenal.

Sinn Féin must decide if they support the law or crime as they deliberate over policing in Northern Ireland, the leader of the SDLP claimed today.

The IRA’s future plans will dominate discussions when Bertie Ahern meets Tony Blair today.

IRA-linked police raids on Manchester properties will be discussed by an Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Prime Minister Tony Blair when they meet in London on Tuesday.

BRITISH police and gardaí are still examining documents seized during raids in the Manchester area, which may be connected to alleged IRA money laundering.

Sinn Féin MP Conor Murphy has launched an attack on the PSNI's Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), accusing it of unfairly implicating one of his constituents in criminal activity.