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Garda Investigations.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 December 2004

Wednesday, 8 December 2004

Questions (130)

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

131 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of organised crime syndicates that have been investigated by the Criminal Assets Bureau in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32719/04]

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Written answers

During the period 1999 to 2003, the Criminal Assets Bureau applied its statutory powers against the assets of a number of persons who were directly or indirectly connected to criminal gangs or syndicates. The majority of actions taken by the Criminal Assets Bureau are taken against the assets of persons suspected of a range of offences including, among others, drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud, corruption, receiving stolen property, aggravated burglaries and murder. In some of these cases the conduct of the individuals against which the bureau has acted may be said to be linked to an organised crime gang.

While figures are not directly available for the number of organised crime gangs involved, an estimate can be gained from the number of applications made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 and the number of Revenue Commissioners actions per year. The number of applications made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 to the High Court over the five year period 1999 to 2003 was as follows: section 2 — 33 cases involving 58 defendants; section 3 — 36 cases involving 49 defendants; section 7 — 36 cases involving 47 defendants. The number of tax assessments issued over the same five year period was: 1999 — 183 assessments; 2000 — 120 assessments; 2001 — 144 assessments; 2002 — 142 assessments; 2003 — 182 assessments. It should be noted that there will be an overlap between section 2 and section 3 orders and there will be multiple cross overlaps for tax targets so these figures are higher than the number of targets.

The use of specialist Garda units in the fight against organised crime, such as the national bureau of criminal investigation, the Criminal Assets Bureau, the Garda bureau of fraud investigation and the Garda national drug unit, all of which operate under the assistant commissioner in charge of national support services, has enabled the Garda Síochána to tackle organised crime, including drug trafficking, in an effective way.

The legislative package available to the law enforcement agencies in this country for tackling organised crime is one of the toughest in Europe. The Garda Síochána has available to it a broad range of legislation to facilitate the fight against serious or organised crime. The Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 have been successfully used to deprive those engaged in criminal activity of their assets and continue to be some of the most significant legislative tools available in the fight against organised crime.

The efforts of the Garda Síochána and other State agencies continue to be brought to bear against those who would seek to profit from drug dealing and organised crime. I have been assured by the Garda authorities that the level of resources employed in this area will remain under review with a view to making changes, as necessary, in the ongoing fight against drugs.

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