Adams: Murphy 'demonised' after raids

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.

Mr Adams said Murphy had been "demonised", adding: "Tom Murphy is not a criminal. He is a good republican."

But that view is likely to count little with either the gardaí or the PSNI, both of which believe he has built up a vast fortune through a massive criminal empire.

His sprawling estate, which straddles the border, was among 15 properties searched during Thursday's joint operation by the two forces.

Around €200,000 in cash, 30,000 cigarettes, 8,000 litres of fuel and weapons were seized.

Two men and a woman arrested during the swoops in north Louth and south Armagh were questioned and released on Thursday night by gardaí.

Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy said yesterday he hoped people would be brought before the courts as a result of the operation.

"Files will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions," he said.

Murphy, 62, was not one of those detained.

He is already under investigation by the Assets Recovery Agency, the British equivalent of the Criminal Assets Bureau, which is probing house sales in the Manchester area.

Last October, Murphy was forced to deny through solicitors he had any connection to 250 properties in the area valued at some £30 million (€43 million), alleged to be assets of the IRA and under his control.

Murphy, however, insists he is a legitimate farmer with no involvement in crime, and Mr Adams yesterday offered his total support following the latest raids, which were months in the planning.

"I read his statement after the Manchester raids and I believe what he says," the west Belfast MP insisted. "He is also a keen supporter of the Sinn Féin peace strategy."

Asked if Murphy was a member of the IRA Army Council, Mr Adams replied: "If he denies being a member of the IRA, then I accept that."

Mr Adams was critical of the scale of the huge cross-Border operation, but backed its objectives.

"We support the pursuit of criminal assets," he added.

"Anybody who is involved in criminality should face the full rigours of the law. That includes the right to a fair trial and the right not to be vilified in the media."

Meanwhile, Mr Adams said he would travel to Washington for St Patrick's Day. Mr Adams was not asked to the White House last year in the wake of the political fallout from the Northern Bank raid and the murder of Robert McCartney.

But he said he would accept an invitation, expected to be confirmed later, from the White House to take part in the celebrations next Friday.

Mr Adams said the main aim of his trip would be to advance the peace process but insisted he will seek to have a ban on Sinn Féin fundraising lifted ahead of his trip.

"The main reason for going to the States, particularly on St Patrick's Day and around that period, is to brief Irish-Americans.

"We have made it very, very clear to the two governments (British and Irish) that we expect them and want them to put the institutions in place in advance of the Orange marching season.

"Going to the States is an opportunity to seek support for that proposition and to encourage the two governments to go down that road."