Man arrested at Dublin Airport on foot of European arrest warrant

Gardaí say arrest is part of investigation into a criminal organisation

A man in his late 20s was arrested at Dublin airport on Friday evening as part of an ongoing investigation into a criminal organisation.

The man, who was arrested on foot of a European arrest warrant, was also detained in Romania on foot of an arrest warrant earlier this month, gardaí said in a statement on Friday night.

The man has been charged to appear in the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) on Saturday morning.

The arrest is part of Operation OMENA, an intelligence led Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) investigation into a criminal organisation involved in fraudulent selling on second hand websites across Europe.

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The investigation is also examining the subsequent laundering of the proceeds of these crimes through a network of bank accounts opened by using false identities and money mules.

It is estimated that this criminal organisation had stolen over €22 million from victims all over Europe up to the end of 2020 and laundered €6,770,026 of this money through bank accounts in Ireland between 2017 and 2022.

Shauna Bowers

Shauna Bowers

Shauna Bowers is a reporter for The Irish Times