Cab raid financial firms in Dundalk

Irish operation: The Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) yesterday raided the offices of seven legal and financial firms in Dundalk, Co Louth, as part of an investigation into the assets owned or controlled by the former chief of staff of the Provisional IRA, Thomas "Slab" Murphy.

Detectives took away around 50 boxes of documentation from the offices and believe it may provide a "road map" to Mr Murphy's assets in Ireland and Britain.

The material will be examined by Cab officers, who have now escalated their investigation into Mr Murphy. Any intelligence will be shared with the North's Assets Recovery Agency (ARA).

A statement from the Garda said: "CAB officers, supported by local units, carried out a total of seven searches in the Co Louth area.

Searches were conducted at professional offices, during which a quantity of documentary material was seized and is currently being examined by Cab officers. No arrests were made and the operation is ongoing."

A residential property portfolio valued at up to €4 million, which Cab believe is owned or controlled by Mr Murphy, has been identified in Dundalk.

Cab also believes he owns two farms, in Dundalk and Meath, both of which include considerable banks of land and are valued at well over €1 million each.

Senior gardaí said despite his involvement in the Provisional IRA, there was no evidence to suggest Mr Murphy was using his wealth for any political or paramilitary purposes at present.

Informed sources last night said much of Cab's investigations into Mr Murphy would now focus on determining how much rental income he has received from his properties in recent years.

Revenue officers in Cab will then assess how much Mr Murphy owes in taxes and penalties. It will mean they will not have to prove where and how Mr Murphy amassed such wealth.

Garda sources last night said that while much of the initial capital used to build the portfolio came from IRA oil-smuggling operations and other criminal activity along the Border, many of the houses have been acquired through bank borrowings in Britain running to tens of millions of pounds.

The same sources said Cab had identified a property portfolio indirectly owned by Mr Murphy in Dundalk that is made up of at least 10 houses. He lives on his own farm in Dundalk, some of which straddles the Border in the North. His second farm in Meath is run by a farm manager employed by Mr Murphy. It was described by Garda sources as a large working farm with livestock.

Officers believe he may have other assets around the country or cash hidden in bank accounts under the names of people not immediately linked to him.