Gardai seize large amount of stolen goods following D12 search

A search of a premises in Dublin 12 by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau today recovered a large amount of suspected stolen property.

Gardai carried out two searches in the Dublin 9 and Dublin 12 areas as part of Operation SKEIN today, Wednesday 3rd February 2021.

In a statement, a Gardai spokesperson said: “The property seized is believed to have been purchased via the proceeds of Business Email Compromise (BEC) / Invoice Re-Direct Frauds which occurred in Asia during December 2020.

“The purchases were made in Dublin over the Christmas period in 2020.

“Following these searches, two people, a man and a woman, both aged 37 years-old, were arrested under gangland legislation and both are detained at Pearse Street and Kevin Street Garda Stations under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2009.

“They can be held for up to one week.”

Gardai say that the two arrests mark the ninth and 10th arrest as part of Operation SKEIN.

Operation SKEIN is an investigation into international BEC/Invoice re-direct fraud being committed from Ireland and the laundering of the proceeds through accounts here.

To date, this investigation has identified that over €6,000,000 has been stolen worldwide with about €5,000,000 laundered through accounts in Ireland. Over 90 suspects have been identified throughout the country.