Organised crime raids - It’s time for EU version of CAB

JUDGING by their recent activities, Dublin’s notorious and murderous crime gangs may think they have the upper hand and are above the law, but gardaí yesterday launched a series of raids designed to show them that they don’t and to hit them where it hurts — in their pockets.

Luxury goods including high-powered cars and motorbikes worth over €1m were seized early yesterday as part of an investigation by gardaí into the activities of a criminal gang in south Dublin.

That may be short change to some gangland members, but at least it is a visible response to a cartel that appears to believe it is impervious to the reaches of our criminal justice system.

It is also important for the local community to see the gardaí take robust action against the criminals in their midst. As we have seen in recent weeks, gratuitous displays of extraordinary wealth have been the hallmark of some gangs as a way of thumbing their noses at the authorities and law-abiding citizens.

In that respect, the ‘optics’ of the operation are welcome for a number of reasons. In the first instance, it is essential that the residents of inner city Dublin be assured that the criminal gangs who live amongst them do not have unfettered control of their environment or their lives.

It is also hugely important that the gardaí are not seen to cede power to those gangs and to act in a manner that allows them to retain the respect and regard of ordinary people.

Searches at 18 locations in the south and west of the city began at 7am and were co-ordinated by the Criminal Assets Bureau. The CAB, since it was founded two decades ago, has enjoyed great success in curtailing the activities of gangs in Dublin, Limerick, and elsewhere.

However, its reach is limited it two ways. Firstly, high-level intelligence on the activities of gangs has been curtailed in recent years by government cutbacks on the policing budget and by the retirement of experienced members of the force whose knowledge of criminal activity was priceless.

That situation must be addressed.

Its jurisdictional reach is also limited. Yesterday’s operation was focused on a south Dublin criminal gang linked to the Kinehan cartel, which is based in Spain.

That is not accidental. Since the advent of CAB, many Irish crime gangs have moved the bulk of their operations to the European mainland, with many of them operating from Spain. The Spanish authorities seem unable or unwilling to curtail their activities, despite the fact they receive credible intelligence from the gardaí and other police forces.

Perhaps it is time for an EU version of CAB, operating under the auspices of Europol. That organisation, which is based in the Netherlands, has enjoyed great success in tracking the activities of criminal gangs in Europe and beyond, but it lacks the necessary teeth to do anything further about them.

As CAB’s success has shown, it is only by hurting the gangs in their pockets that they can be brought to heel.