For years Irish criminals have been operating from Spain, but new laws will allow gardaí to curtail their activities, writes Conor Lally.
When two prominent members of the Dublin Westies criminal gang disappeared without trace in Spain 12 months ago, it was believed they'd been murdered and buried in the hills of Alicante. Crime reporters produced story after story about the lavish lifestyles the young men had led in the southern Spanish region before meeting their apparent Waterloo. Newspapers ran rogues-gallery mug shots of all of the other Irish criminals based in Alicante. So numerous are these exiles that the south of Spain was dubbed the Costa del Crime.
In the past few years many astute Irish drug dealers have upped sticks and fled to Spain when they sensed gardaí were getting close to catching them. The initial catalyst for this mass migration was the intense Garda focus on organised crime following the 1996 murder of journalist Veronica Guerin. Many have established contacts with drug suppliers in Spain, which has become the hub through which drugs from South America are distributed around Europe. From their sunny bolt-holes the Irish dealers have been supplying most of the merchandise for Ireland's thriving illicit drugs trade. Because they are domiciled overseas and have their assets there, the Garda hasn't been able to touch them. These dealers are supplying to the Irish market only, and so the Spanish authorities haven't been particularly interested in their activities. It's been a win-win environment where they have thrived.
Cocaine seizures in the Republic have jumped almost tenfold in the last five years, from €2.3 million in 2000 to €19 million last year. It is by far the fastest-growing drug in the Republic, and it is virtually all being sourced in Spain from the Alicante set. But now, officers from the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) believe the new powers bestowed on them last weekend will allow them to target the finances of major drug suppliers and seriously disrupt the drugs route from Spain. A smaller number of Irish drug dealers based in the UK and the Netherlands will be affected in the same way.
The new powers are among a raft of measures contained in the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2005, which was signed into law by President McAleese last Saturday. As well as new provisions aimed at targeting those who have enriched themselves through corruption, the main focus of the new legislation is international organised crime.
The Act allows the bureau to seize offshore assets belonging to Irish criminals even if those criminals are living overseas. The assets will be fair game as long as there is any Irish dimension to the criminal activity in which Irish people abroad are engaged. And enshrined in the legislation are provisions allowing for co-operation between CAB and similar bodies in other jurisdictions, such as the Assets Recovery Agency in the North and Britain.
The new legislation also allows for Garda or Revenue officers to seize any sum of money over €6,500 anywhere in the State if they believe it to be the proceeds of crime. This is particularly important. Drug dealing is a cash business. The only way for Irish dealers based in Spain to get their hands on funds generated by the sale of their drugs in the Republic is to have the money flown back to Spain. CAB would detect any paper trail, so converting money into bank drafts here is out of the question. Usually money is stuffed into holdall bags - sometimes hundreds of thousands of euro at a time - and is flown by trusted couriers back to Spain in charter flights from Dublin Airport. Every time drug money is moved around in large quantities in preparation for shipment from the State, there is now an opportunity for gardaí to land a hit against gangland crime.
Before the new laws were introduced, CAB and the Revenue had the power to seize cash in this way only at the point of entry to, or exit from, the Republic. Well-placed Garda sources this week told The Irish Times the new legislation has already led to dormant CAB files being re-opened. Many criminals who have had their Irish assets targeted have managed to hold on to some of their wealth because it had been invested in overseas property or deposited in foreign bank accounts. CAB will move on a number of well-known Dublin criminals in the coming weeks. The groundwork in identifying their offshore assets has already been done and, armed with the new legislation, CAB expect many seizures will be a formality. The next step will involve targeting the estates of the Irish barons in Spain who have to date used the distance between the two jurisdictions to their benefit.
Senior officers insist they will have to test the legislation before they are sure of its effectiveness. However, CAB has had a very significant input into how the new laws were framed and it believes it has got it right.
More Power: What CAB Can Do
CAB can seize the offshore assets of Irish criminals.
The bureau will have the power to target Irish criminals who are living overseas and have all of their assets overseas, as long as part of their criminal enterprise relates to the Republic.
CAB can apply to the High Court in order to establish the identity of trustees or persons for whom property is held in trust. Previously, confidential trusts and complex financial structures had enabled criminals hide their wealth.
A person likely to inherit the proceeds of crime can become the subject of CAB confiscation actions, even if they are not criminals themselves.
Gardaí and designated Revenue staff will have the power to confiscate any sum more than €6,500 from any person and at any place if they believe the money is, directly or indirectly, the proceeds of crime.
CAB can apply to the High Court for a corrupt enrichment order, which it can use to confiscate any asset it believes has been generated through corruption, including planning corruption.
Gardaí are empowered to seize any gift or sum of money that they believe to be a bribe in any act of corruption or criminality.