{"id":418003,"date":"2026-04-26T05:52:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T05:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/418003\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T05:52:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T05:52:11","slug":"hidden-car-compartment-contained-e5m-tick-list-of-cash-movements-court-hears-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/418003\/","title":{"rendered":"Hidden car compartment contained \u20ac5m \u2018tick-list\u2019 of cash movements, court hears \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Dublin man intercepted moving just over \u20ac117,000 in suspected crime proceeds had ledgers showing \u20ac5 million in cash movements in a hidden compartment in his car, it has been alleged.<\/p>\n

Labourer Alan Smith (45) of Ballintree Villas, Tyrrellstown, Dublin 15, was arrested after the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau<\/a> stopped him at Newtown Park, Blackrock, Co Dublin on April 23rd last.<\/p>\n

He is accused of having \u20ac117,100, alleged proceeds of criminal conduct. He appeared before Judge Mich\u00e8le Finan at Dublin District Court<\/a> on Saturday and was remanded in custody after deferring a bail application.<\/p>\n

The court heard the case stemmed from an investigation into a transnational organised crime group. Det Gda Mark Donovan gave evidence that Smith, who has not yet indicated a plea, made no reply when charged. <\/p>\n

The detective alleged the man was placed under surveillance and observed briefly interacting with an unknown male in Monkstown, Co Dublin, who handed over a bag through the driver\u2019s window of Smith\u2019s car. The court heard that the accused was the sole occupant of the Ford Mondeo.<\/p>\n

It was later intercepted in Blackrock, and he was arrested and brought to Dundrum Garda<\/a> station. During the contested bail hearing, it was revealed that his car was subsequently searched and cash was recovered in a \u201cdeep concealment\u201d in the rear seat. <\/p>\n

The detective explained that it was operated by a button in the car\u2019s cigarette lighter and that this was an aftermarket addition to the vehicle.<\/p>\n

In addition to the cash, garda\u00ed located ledgers and documents relating to \u201csubstantial cash movements going back to 2021\u201d, including a tick list, amounting to \u20ac5 million being transported, the court heard.<\/p>\n

The detective garda also said that the accused\u2019s phone had been seized but that it was encrypted and could not be accessed.<\/p>\n

The garda also feared that the man was a flight risk because of his alleged connection to a group with the means to facilitate his evasion of justice.<\/p>\n

The court heard that the accused, a married father of three who is unemployed, had lived at the same address for decades.<\/p>\n

The detective garda agreed with defence barrister Kevin McCrave that during his questioning, his client had spoken about being placed under a threat. The case continues for a bail ruling on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The granting of legal aid has been deferred pending a statement of Smith\u2019s means being handed in to the court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Dublin man intercepted moving just over \u20ac117,000 in suspected crime proceeds had ledgers showing \u20ac5 million in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26427,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-418003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}