Workers' Party former president in court in relation to forgery

The former president of the Workers’ Party of Ireland, who is wanted in the US in relation to a major forgery racket, will appear in court today.

The US authorities have sought the extradition of Sean Garland amid claims he was involved in a massive counterfeiting operation of high quality US dollars.

The 74-year-old was detained outside his party offices in Dublin last Friday.

US investigators allege the suspect was involved in a large-scale forgery operation which produced almost perfect copies of US dollars two decades ago.

And it is also claimed the counterfeiting involved the North Korean Government.

Mr Justice Michael Peart, who was sitting in Dublin’s High Court on Friday, remanded Mr Garland in custody to reappear again before the court today.

A former IRA leader in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mr Garland was part of a group within the movement which tried to lead it away from violence and make it more political.

He was a key figure in securing the Official IRA Ceasefire of May 1972.

Garland later served as president of the Workers’ Party (previously the Sinn Féin Workers’ Party) from 2000 until his retirement last year. He remains a member of the party’s central executive committee.

He was previously arrested by the Police Service of Northern Ireland on foot of an extradition warrant by the US authorities in October 2005 at the Workers’ Party annual conference in Belfast.

He was released on bail but failed to appear for his court hearing.

The Workers’ Party described the latest arrest of Mr Garland, of Beldonstown, Brownstown, Navan, Co Meath, as “politically motivated”.