Pair arrested after digging €1.25m cash out of Limerick field

Gardaí have arrested two men in relation to the seizure of over €1m in cash following the search of a property in Limerick.

The operation, part of an ongoing probe into organised criminal activity in the Limerick area, was carried out on Saturday. The cash was discovered when gardaí attached to the Divisional Drugs and Crime Units searched a property at Portcrusha near Castleconnell.

Two men, aged in their 50s and 40s, were arrested during the operation.

They were detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996, at Henry Street Garda Station. The man in his 40s was last night released without charge.

It is understood the men were arrested after they unearthed the cash from a field in Portcrusha.

They used a commercial digging machine to get the money and were arrested afterwards while trying to dry and count the €1.25m in notes. Part of the stash was also hidden in a container on farmland. It’s unclear how long the cash was buried in the field.

Gardaí suspect it was to be used by a Limerick gang to buy drugs. The cash was buried more than 2m underground.

“The cash was discovered when gardaí attached to the Divisional Drugs and Crime Units searched a property at Portcrusha near Castleconnell. Two males aged in their 50s and 40s were arrested,” said a Garda spokesperson.

Investigations are continuing. The haul is the biggest cash recovery by gardaí in Limerick in recent years and is expected to severely dent the gang’s drug business.