Latest news with #DublinCrimeResponseTeam
Sunday World
2 days ago
- Sunday World
Man admits charges after €300k of cannabis found in utility room
Ross Merton (29) was charged after gardaí found the drug along with €1,500 in crime proceeds in a raid earlier this year A Dublin man has admitted drugs and money laundering charges following the seizure of an estimated €300,000 worth of cannabis in his apartment's utility room. Ross Merton (29) was charged after gardaí found the drug along with €1,500 in crime proceeds in a raid earlier this year. He signed guilty pleas when he appeared in Dublin District Court. Judge Michele Finan sent him forward for sentence to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Merton, of Beech House, The Avenue, Kilternan Wood, Dublin 18 is charged with possession of cannabis with intent to sell or supply, and money laundering. A prosecuting solicitor said the accused was being returned to the circuit court on signed pleas of guilty. Merton acknowledged his signature and that he understood what this meant, before the judge remanded him on continuing bail. At a bail application in January, the court heard Merton was 'caught red handed' taking part in the storage and supply of drugs. Garda Emma Young, of the Dublin Crime Response Team, said when the address was searched, cannabis was found in a utility room. The accused was not present at the time but returned and made admissions. He had received the drugs in a suitcase, stored it in his apartment and was to be later paid €1,000, the garda said. The court heard a sum of €1,500 in cash was also seized. Gardaí had objected to bail in that initial hearing, but Judge Finan granted it with a €30,000 independent surety and subject to conditions. Ross Merton News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, July 29
BreakingNews.ie
5 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Three men arrested after gardaí find almost €350,000 cash in suitcase
Three men have been arrested in Dublin after gardaí found almost €350,000 in cash stuffed inside a suitcase in a car. The discovery was made as part of an operation targeting an organised crime gang involved in the sale and supply of controlled drugs and money laundering activities in the Dublin area. Advertisement The car was searched in Drumcondra on Friday. The operation was carried out by the Dublin Crime Response Team (DCRT) who searched three men, who were passengers in the vehicle, and their luggage, and located and seized an estimated €345,640 cash. Three men, aged in their 40s, were arrested by gardaí and are currently being detained at garda stations in the Dublin region. Assistant Commissioner Paul Cleary, from the Dublin Metropolitan Region, said: 'This significant seizure of cash not only removes ill-gotten gains from the hands of criminals, but also deprives them of money they would have used to fund further criminal activities and cause harm in our communities.' Advertisement
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Irish Times
Gardaí question three men following seizure of €345,000 in cash
Three men in their forties are being questioned by Gardaí in connection with the seizure of €345,640 in cash following the search of a vehicle in Drumcondra in Dublin on Friday. The search was carried out as part of an operation targeting an organised crime group involved in money laundering and the sale and sale of drugs in Dublin. Members of the Dublin Crime Response Team (DCRT) searched three male passengers in the vehicle and their luggage and located and seized the cash. The men are being detained in garda stations in the Dublin region. Assistant Commissioner Paul Cleary, Dublin Metropolitan Region said that this 'significant seizure' of cash not only removes ill-gotten gains from the hands of criminals, but also deprives them of money they would have used to 'fund further criminal activities and cause harm in our communities.'
Irish Daily Mirror
16-07-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Gang boss jailed after gardai smash €10million drugs operation he led in Dublin
A gang boss is beginning a 15-year jail term after he was caught with drugs and cash worth more than €10million. Andrew Pender, who gardai said had been under the radar before he was identified as running the massive operation, was caught with €8.968 million of drugs and €1.149 million of cash in an operation in July last year in Dublin. The operation was spearheaded by the Garda Dublin Crime Response Team – set up two years ago to crack down on mid-tier gangs which are bigger than local outfits, but smaller than national and international mobs, like the Kinahan cartel. And Garda Assistant Commissioner Paul Cleary, who oversees policing in Dublin and is in charge of the DCRT, today told The Mirror after the sentencing of 52-year-old Pender that mid-tier gangs were getting bigger and bigger. He said: 'I know from my own personal experience that every year we are seeing larger and larger quantities of drugs and sometimes cash with them. 'The Dublin Crime Response Team since being set up two years ago has seized over €48 million worth of drugs and over €14 million in cash and gold bullion. 'That gives an indication of those targeted mid-level groups, what they are capable of.' The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week And he also said Pender controlled the gang officers smashed in the operation – but also delivered cocaine, cannabis, ecstasy and ketamine himself. He said: 'Andrew Pender was managing and controlling a sophisticated drugs cell and he was responsible for it. 'He was also observed delivering large quantities of drugs into communities around out city so it was a very significant result here today and very much targeted at the mid-tier, mid-level drug dealing gangs.' And he added that Pender worked closely with one of Ireland's biggest crime gangs - based in the Cabra area of north west Dublin. He said: 'We do believe that Andrew Pender was affiliated with a group based in north west Dublin, but those investigations are very much live and ongoing.' Garda Assistant Commissioner for Dublin Paul Cleary said Pender ran and controlled the massive drugs operation. Photo: Collins (Image: Collins Courts) Bales of cash seized by the Garda's Dublin Crime Response Team in the operations (Image: An Garda Siochana) Although the senior officer did not name the gang, sources have confirmed it is the outfit led by brothers David and Christopher Waldron, both of whom have been targeted by the Criminal Assets Bureau – with a senior officer telling the High Court the force has intelligence the pair took over a leading role in sourcing and supplying drugs in the Cabra area after the murder of mobster Eamon Dunne in 2010. Commissioner Cleary was speaking outside the CCJ complex in Dublin after Circuit Criminal Court Judge Orla Crowe jailed father of four Pender for 15 years for the massive drugs operation – and refused a defence plea to suspend a portion of the term. That means, with standard remission of 25 per cent along with time already served, Pender will serve just over 11 years and be freed in August 2036, when he is aged 63. Pender was described in court on Wednesday as the manager of the 'entire cell of a drug distribution network in the Dublin area'. Judge Orla Crowe said that gardaí are satisfied that 'no people were higher up nationally' than Pender. The judge said it was a 'a highly sophisticated operation' that involved two vehicles which had been adapted to have hidden compartments to store drugs, a rented shipping container, a stolen garda uniform and a falsely registered delivery company. Pender of Ely Green, Tallaght, Dublin 24 pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of an assortment of drugs for sale or supply at The Ward in Co Meath on July 19, 2024. He has three previous convictions for minor road traffic offences. He further pleaded guilty to having two vehicles – a Peugeot and a Mercedes Luton van – which had been fitted with a compartment in circumstances giving rise to the inference that he possessed or controlled it for the purpose connected with the commission, preparation, facilitation or instigation of a drug trafficking offence on the same date. Finally, he pleaded guilty to money laundering of €1,149,920 in cash at The Ward, his home and his parents' home also on the same date. The sophisticated concealed hide in a van used by Pender and his gang to transport drugs and cash. Photo: An Garda Siochana. (Image: An Garda Siochana.) The cocaine found was valued at almost €4.47 million, the ketamine had a value of just over €2.5 million, the cannabis was worth €1.29 million and the MDMA was valued at just over €700,00. In sentencing Pender on Wednesday, Judge Crowe noted that he did not assist the Garda investigation but acknowledged that he pleaded guilty to the offences at an early stage. She accepted that he had a long-standing addiction to cocaine which has had medical consequences for him before she noted that he suffered from COPD, that he had heart problems and recently had surgery on his nose. She further accepted that there was a large number of references before the court that spoke well of Pender and a letter of remorse he had written. Judge Crowe said that the garda evidence was that Pender 'managed the entire cell of drug distribution for the Dublin area' and gardaí are satisfied that he was not under duress or pressure to run this operation. She noted that he was responsible for both the movement of cash and drugs. She said he was in 'clear control' of the operation and 'working hands on' before describing the evidence as 'obvious' that Pender was at 'a level of involvement at the highest possible level' and that there was 'no people higher up than he nationally'. Some of the cocaine seized by the DCRT. Photo: An Garda Siochana. (Image: An Garda Siochana) Some of the MDMA tablets seized in the raid. (Image: An Garda Siochana) Judge Crowe said it was an 'inherently very grave' case noting the impact drugs and drug trafficking at this level have on society. She also noted that "chillingly" Pender had possession of a garda uniform. She set a headline sentence of 20 years in prison noting that the maximum penalty available to the court was life imprisonment. Judge Crowe said she was taking into account mitigating features of the case including Pender's personal circumstances and his plea of guilty before she imposed a sentence of 15 years in prison. The sentence was backdated to when Pender first went into custody earlier this month and he was given credit for time previously served on remand. Judge Crowe acceded to a request from Joe Mulrean BL, prosecuting, to have the drugs, cash, vehicles and shipping container seized during the investigation forfeited to the State. She refused an application by Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending to suspend part of the sentence on the basis of Pender's chronic drug addiction. Detective Inspector Ken Holohan, of the DCRT, previously gave evidence that Pender was arrested following what was described as 'an elaborate ongoing investigation' after it was determined that Pender was 'a person of trust'. Drugs and containers seized in the Garda operation. Photo: An Garda Siochana (Image: An Garda Siochana) Assistant Commissioner Paul Cleary pictured with Detective Inspector Ken Holohan and Detective Sergeant John Harrington speaking to the media outside the CCJ in Dublin on Wednesday afternoon after Andrew Pender was sentenced to 15 years for drug trafficking. Pic Collins Courts Pender was stopped while he was driving a Peugeot and a further search of the vehicle revealed €9,000 in cash, a small quantity of cocaine and a key. It was soon discovered that this was the key for a rented shipping container situated in rural Meath. A warrant was obtained to search this container and a Mercedes Luton van and a stolen garda uniform, along with a stab vest, was also discovered. The van had been fitted with a hidden compartment, behind a hydraulic device. It was considered a sophisticated compartment which required an expert to access it. In this compartment, 16 blocks of cash and two kilogrammes of cocaine were found. The rest of the drugs were found in the shipping container. Pender had been renting the container for some time, paying €200 per month in rent. It later transpired that Pender had asked two separate people to register the two vehicles in their own names. Pender had also registered a company in his name in November 2021. It was registered to his home address but he did not operate the company as a business. The Peugeot that he had been stopped driving also had a false floor fitted to hide a compartment under the seats. Pender's home and his parents' home were searched during which the documentation in relation to the vehicle was found along with further quantities of cash. Mr Ó Lideadha submitted to the court that Pender had the money and drugs in order to pay off a drug debt but the gardaí do not accept this. Counsel said Pender had damaged his nose due to his 'chronic cocaine habit' and he had to have part of his nose surgically removed recently as a result. 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Sunday World
27-06-2025
- Sunday World
Man accused of using work van to supply drugs following €500k seizure in Dublin
Paul Ennis, the sole occupant of the van, was arrested and taken to Swords station to be questioned A block layer was accused of using his work van to transport and supply drugs following a seizure of over half a million euros of cocaine, MDMA and cannabis in Dublin. Paul Ennis, 38, of Ardcath, Garristown, Dublin, was arrested on Wednesday during an operation by gardaí with the Dublin Crime Response Team. He was refused bail when he appeared before Judge Maire Conneely at Dublin District Court charged with unlawful possession of the drugs and having them for sale or supply. Garda Thomas Doyle objected to the father of one's bail, citing the seriousness of the case. A stock image of MDMA tablets News in 90 Seconds - June 27th He alleged that gardaí intercepted a 2014-registered white Ford Transit driven by Mr Ennis. Searching the vehicle led to empty vacuum-sealed bags with drug residue, a kilo of cannabis, weighing scales and an alleged "tick list" – a record for transactions or debts, the court heard. Mr Ennis, the sole occupant of the van, was arrested and taken to Swords station to be questioned. A follow-up search was carried out at a property in Stamullen, Co Meath. The contested bail hearing was told a significant quantity of illicit drugs was seized including 33,260 MDMA tablets, valued at €332,600, cocaine worth €121,590, and €57,480 of cannabis herb. The total value of the seizure was estimated to be €518,390. Mr Ennis was interviewed on three occasions. Questioned by defence barrister Paddy Flynn, instructed by solicitor Martin O'Donnell, he accepted that the accused was cooperative. It was alleged he used his work van for large-scale drug distribution. Mr Flynn submitted that his client, who has yet to enter a plea, would obey conditions and was agreeable to not driving any vehicle. However, the DCRT officer maintained his objection to bail. A decision on legal aid was deferred until he provided a statement of his means. He was remanded in custody and will appear again on July 3 at Cloverhill District Court. Directions from the DPP must be obtained.
