Almost £40 million in Irish-manufactured computer parts have been stolen in the last three years, more than £32 million outside the State, according to Garda and industry figures.
After one particular robbery the computer parts stolen in Ireland were being sold in Amsterdam the following day and on the west coast of America a week later, a conference in Dublin was told.
Some 240 delegates from European police and industry bodies attended the conference organised by the Irish Electronic Security Forum (IESF) and i.the Garda. The IESF is an alliance of all the major computer companies based in Ireland.
Irish criminals moved into the trade in 1992 when "the word on the streets was that this new trend in the electronics black market was more profitable than drugs", Det Chief Supt John McGroarty told delegates.
Components were high-value, easy to transport and hide, largely untraceable and in high demand, he said. The gangs "stole locally and supplied globally".
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation had estimated that the global market in stolen components was worth more than $6 billion last year.
Gangs invariably worked with inside information from employees of the companies, he said. American intelligence agents believed that employees laid off in "downsizing" operations had been recruited by organised criminals in the US.
In 1996 and 1997 the Irish-based companies responded to the thefts with tightened security and the organised gangs decided "it was easier to do deals with criminals abroad in organising these thefts". Three Irish criminal gangs are believed to have actively targeted computer components in the early 1990s, with one west Dublin criminal described as the "main player".
The chairman of the IESF, Mr Tom O'Sullivan, said global positioning systems (GPS) installed in trucks transporting parts had become standard. Trucks with such loads usually carry roof markings for identification by the Garda Aerial Unit. The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, said the crime could "dissuade potential investors", and international co-operation was needed.
