Money-laundering criminal caught in the act

It was literally a case of a criminal laundering money.

When gardaí raided a farm at Portcrush, Montpellier, Co Limerick they found convicted drug dealer John Duffy drying €1.5m in a spin-dryer and vacuum packing it in plastic.

Duffy, 55, who once worked as a chauffeur and ran a car valeting business in Limerick, pleaded guilty at Limerick Circuit Court, to possessing the money, knowing it to be the proceeds of crime.

Judge Tom O’Donnell said: “This was literally money laundering. This case goes into the bizarre and spectacular.”

Duffy, Shanabooly Road, Ballynanty Beg, Limerick who was jailed for six years in 2000 for the sale and supply of drugs, would not say who the money belonged to as he was in fear of them.

He did tell gardaí the money came from the illegal sale of cigarettes.

Det Garda David Boland, Roxboro Road station said Duffy was inside in a large container, drying and packing the money when the raid was carried out on on April 13, 2013.

The container had a supply of electricity from which the spin-dryer worked. They also found latex gloves in the box. Another man, named as Mr X was on a mini-digger outside the container, digging up cash which had been buried.

Large sums were inside being dried and packaged by Duffy.

Det Garda Boland said it was by far the largest seizure of cash used for criminal purposes in the history of the State. Duffy said the money had been delivered to him and it had been buried near the container, before it was dug up to be dried and vacuum packed.

Duffy said he was acting under duress and would not name those who the money belonged to as he feared for his life.

Judge O’Donnell said he would pass sentence today.