Ireland a ‘location for flow of jihadists and smuggling,’ says Interpol report
Ireland has been named in an Interpol report as being a location for the flow of foreign jihadists and African Rhino horn smuggling.
The ‘World Atlas of illicit flows’ looks at more than 1,000 smuggling routes of drugs, human trafficking and natural resources, reveals that “incomes to non-state armed groups and terrorist groups are diversifying and increasingly based on organised crime, sustaining conflicts worldwide”.
Ireland is cited on three occasions, in relation to the flow of foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq; as a location where a rhino horn seizure has been made; and to a lesser extent regarding migrant trafficking into and within the European Union.
It indicates that a relatively small number of people have travelled from Ireland to conflicts in Iraq and Syria, in line with estimates from the Department of Justice.
In answer to a parliamentary question last May, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said: “While there is a small number of people in Ireland whose activities in support of jihadist-type extremism give cause for concern, they are monitored on an ongoing basis with a view to preventing offences and securing evidence for prosecutions.
There is also a small number of people, estimated to be in the order of 30 or so, who have travelled from Ireland to fight with jihadist-type groups in the conflict in Syria and Iraq. Unfortunately, a number of those are understood to have lost their lives. The deputy will understand, of course, that in the circumstances of conflict, it can be difficult to ensure the reliability of information in matters such as these.
Ireland has previously been referred to as a transit and destination country for migrant trafficking although the atlas indicates that the United Kingdom is a more likely destination, mainly along the western Mediterranean route.
As for African Rhino horn smuggling, Ireland is pinpointed as a location where seizures have been made — one of a few non-African and non-Asian countries, alongside the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Back in 2013 An Garda Síochána said that since 2010 there have been in excess of 60 documented thefts of rhino horns and rare Chinese cultural artefacts from museums and private collections throughout Europe.
At that time officers from the Criminal Assets Bureau carried out a number of searches in the Rathkeale and Raheen areas of Limerick and Newmarket in Co Cork.
Overall the Atlas found that environmental crime — including illegal exploitation of oil, minerals and gold —has become the largest financial driver of conflict, ahead of drugs.
The World Atlas was compiled by Interpol, RHIPTO, which is a Norwegian UN-collaborating centre, and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime.
