The importance of the discovery of £50,000 from the stolen Northern Bank millions was played down by Mr Hugh Orde, the PSNI chief constable.
The cash, sealed in five plastic wraps containing £10,000 each, was found at a police social club in south Belfast. It is the first of the cash to have surfaced since the robbery on December 20th.
Mr Orde linked the find to the more significant developments in the case in Dublin and Cork.
"It is a small amount of money in terms of the bank robbery. It is a distraction. It is people trying to take the focus off the key issue, which is the operation run by the Garda, and the major crime inquiry we still have ongoing."
The premises, at Newforge in the affluent Malone area of the city, were easy places to access by people anxious to divert attention from the arrests and discovery of the huge money-laundering operation.
"Places like sports clubs have become more open. It was an easy thing to do. I am not particularly impressed by it, but I did ask them to give the money back in my first press conference, and they have started to listen."
The discovery was made on Friday, and immediately denounced by a reliable police source as "a distraction".
Mr Orde was supported in this assessment by the SDLP policing spokesman Mr Alex Attwood. He said the placing of the bank cash at the club was an attempt to cloud the issue and that "people aren't buying that".
Mr Attwood welcomed a planned meeting today between the Garda Commissioner, Mr Noel Conroy, and Mr Orde in Hillsborough, which will work to enhance co-operation on policing.
"Garda officers in the North and PSNI officers in the South on three-year secondments build confidence in policing and makes policing work better." The pursuit of crime gangs throughout Ireland was "top of the police agenda".
The arrests and cash seizures were "the first fruits of the joint PSNI/Garda operation", Mr Attwood added.
"This is the way to go, and Monday's announcement will be a signpost in that direction."
The meeting was also welcomed by the DUP.