The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) has revealed that 28 targets were investigated across Donegal last year.
The annual report published for Ireland’s elite Criminal Assets Bureau shows that a total of 1,638 targets were probed nationwide in 2022.
CAB was set up in the wake of the death of reporter Veronica Guerin and targets people Gardai suspect gained from the proceeds of criminal activity.
The number of individuals in Donegal under investigation in 2021 was also 28, and in 2020 the figure stood at 48.
One of the most high-profile cases in Donegal was convicted Ramelton drug-dealer Dessie Enfield whose former property on the Shores of Lough Swilly was seized by CAB in 2021. The house was gutted in a suspected arson attack three months later.
During 2022, the Bureau focused on all crimes involving wealth acquisition and returned in excess of €6.3m million to the Exchequer.
These included seizures of cash, property assets, luxury cars, watches such as Rolex, Breitling and Hublot, and clothes such as Christine Louboutin shoes and Louis Vuitton bags. Further details can be found in the annual report.
In total, for the year 2022, the Bureau denied and deprived criminals of their ill-gotten gains to the sum of €6.359 million, and the value of assets under the new proceeds of crime cases commenced by the Bureau ranged in value from €9,718 to €1,948,147.
Internationally, the Bureau continued to liaise and conduct investigations with law enforcement and judicial authorities throughout Europe and worldwide.
Minister McEntee marked the publication of the Criminal Assets Bureau Annual Report 2022, stating: “The 2022 Annual Report evidences the hard work and dedication of Chief Bureau Officer Mick Gubbins and all of the staff and agencies involved in CAB and I would like to thank them for their ongoing efforts and determination to deprive criminals of the benefits of their illegal activity.”
