LATEST: Six appear in court follow major search operation in Limerick
A NUMBER of people have appeared in court charged with money laundering offences following a major operation in Limerick city involving hundreds of gardai.
A total of 19 people have been arrested as part of the pre-planned operation which began early this Tuesday morning.
As part of Operation Coronation, more than 300 garda personnel carried out a total of 65 searches on the northside of Limerick city assisted by members of the Defence Forces as well as Revenue and Customs officers.
Over several hours, soldiers could be seen carrying out detailed searches of waste ground while others patrolled the area to maintain a secure perimeter.
During the searches of houses, business premises and areas of open ground, around €145,000 in cash was seized along with five designer watches and a three high-powered vehicles - a BMW, a Volkswagen Tiguan and a Range Rover.
Ten horses, including a Stallion valued in excess of €50,000 were also seized along with a horse box worth around €10,000.
Suspected cannabis herb and cocaine, worth a combined €10,000, were also located by gardai along with a cocaine press, weighing scales and a vacuum packing machine.
Gardai say a variety of documentation has been seized for further analysis by the Criminal Assets Bureau and that eight bank accounts, containing more than €420,000, have been frozen.
A dozen people were arrested early this morning while seven more were arrested later in the day. The 13 men and six women were detained at various Limerick garda stations following their arrest.
Three women and two men appeared before Limerick District Court today charged with money laundering offences while another man appeared in court charged with offences under the Control of Horses Act, 1996.
Several other suspects have been charged with drugs offences and are due to appear in court in the coming weeks while one man has been charged with weapons offences. A number of those arrested remain in custody tonight.
Gardai say the operation, which involves a number of national units, is ongoing.