Haulage firm owners have assets worth €5.3m frozen

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.

The Assets Recovery Agency obtained court orders allowing them to take control of properties and other assets held by Mark and Beverley McKinney of Portadown, Co Armagh.

The couple own MMK International Transport Ltd, the assets of which have also been frozen.

The court was told by the agency it believed the haulage company had been used to smuggle drugs, fuel and cigarettes.

The agency has been probing links with loyalist paramilitaries.

Among the items seized were the contents of more than 30 bank accounts, more than 70 vehicles, including a helicopter, articulated lorries, a Jaguar X-type, a Bentley Continental and a Range Rover, the couple’s home in Portadown, a caravan, and also commercial property.

Under the same order, the assets of Anthony James McNeill, also from Portadown, were frozen in an investigation into money laundering.

The Assets Recovery Agency alleged in court that he and the McKinneys were engaged in laundering more than £650,000 (€954,780) and that he had links to loyalist paramilitaries in the Portadown area.

Assets Recovery Agency assistant director Alan McQuillan said: “At the heart of these assets is a major road haulage business in Portadown.

“While that company has some legitimate business, it was part of the ARA’s case to the High Court that that company was also used as a vehicle for smuggling drugs, tobacco and oil into Northern Ireland and that the McKinneys and Mr McNeill were involved in laundering the proceeds of crime.

“The evidence we have collected to date has allowed us to convince the High Court that we have a good, arguable case.

“The court has now appointed a receiver who will preserve the assets, carry on the investigation and prepare an independent report for the court.

“At this point £3.6m represents an approximate value of the assets frozen. It is anticipated that the interim receiver will continue the operation of the business as a going concern whilst pursuing their investigations.”