The Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) last year enjoyed one of the biggest in its history, largely based on serving tax demands on criminals and selling property seized from them.
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee on Tuesday is due to brief the Cabinet on Cab’s progress and also her plans to significantly increase the capacity of the bureau.
As The Irish Times reports, garda sources said the high value of assets seized and amount of money returned to the State last year came as the economy returned to Celtic Tiger-like conditions and the demand for drugs mirrored the Republic’s prosperity.
The demand for cocaine was especially strong, even though the wholesale price of the drug has increased to €40,000 per kilo from €25,000 over the last 12 months amid major cocaine seizures in the State.
Some 188 searches were carried out by the bureau last year across 22 counties.
The bureau also held its first publicly advertised online auction last year, raising €446,000 from the…
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