Gardaí seize €300k of high-value items and cars in nationwide raids on clothes recycling charity

The charity is headquartered in Dublin, and boasts shops around the country including in Cork, Limerick and Waterford offering training and employment services

High-value items including Louis Vuitton bags, Rolex watches, and jewellery were seized by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau.

A national clothes recycling charity has been targeted in a major money laundering operation with raids of its shops across the country.

The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) launched the search operation after a lengthy investigation into the charity.

During the searches, gardaí seized:

• Two BMW X5 cars with a total estimated value of €250,000;
• High-value items including Louis Vuitton bags, Rolex watches, and jewellery with a total estimated value of €40,000

The organisation, which is registered with the Charities Regulator, is headquartered in Dublin, and boasts shops nationwide including in Cork, Limerick and Waterford offering training and employment services.

A statement issued by Garda HQ said: “As part of an ongoing investigation by detectives attached to the Money Laundering Investigation unit at the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB), gardaí carried out a number of searches at locations in the Dublin, Eastern and Southern Regions on Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 October.” 

The statement said the investigation is being carried out in conjunction with the office of the Charities Regulator.

The charity's accounts show it earned annual income of just under €3m in both 2022 and 2023, rising to €3.6m in 2024. It reported higher, and rising, levels of expenditure in those years, increasing from €2.5m in 2022, to €3.2m in 2023 and almost €4m in 2024 — resulting in net losses.

But it had total assets of around €970,000 at the close of 2024, including cash in hand and in the bank totalling circa €320,000 and other assets of almost €650,000. This gave it net assets of almost €400,000.

Its documents state that, over the past five years, 164 people have moved into employment and another 26 into further education and training.

The project is a registered charity and Community Employment Scheme employing over 80 people — 50 full time and 30 part time.

Its annual report for 2025 has not yet been filed with the regulator.

• Cormac O’Keeffe, security correspondent