{"id":596976,"date":"2026-08-18T11:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/596976\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T11:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:32:10","slug":"donegal-drug-search-sparks-cab-probe-into-e88k-social-welfare-overpayment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/596976\/","title":{"rendered":"Donegal drug search sparks CAB probe into \u20ac88k Social Welfare overpayment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Donegal couple was ordered to hand back almost \u20ac90,000 after a Criminal Assets Bureau investigation uncovered a social welfare overpayment.<\/p>\n<p>The case began after the Donegal Divisional Drugs Unit of the Gardai carried out a search which led to CAB opening an investigation into the couple.<\/p>\n<p>During the investigation, CAB identified significant issues surrounding social welfare payments, with an overpayment of \u20ac88,511.60 assessed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The full amount was subsequently repaid, it has been confirmed.<\/p>\n<p>CAB also went to the High Court in relation to approximately \u20ac63,000 held in a financial institution by the same couple.<\/p>\n<p>A Section 3 order was initially obtained, effectively freezing the funds and preventing them from being moved or dealt with while the matter was investigated.<\/p>\n<p>A subsequent Section 4A consent order was secured, meaning the matter was resolved with the agreement of the parties rather than through a contested court hearing.<\/p>\n<p>CAB said the case highlighted the importance of an interagency approach, with the Bureau working alongside other State agencies to fulfil its statutory remit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-sans font-semibold text-xl md:text-[30px] leading-9 text-primary w-full\">\n        You may also be interested in\n    <\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.donegaldaily.com\/news\/donegal-students-warned-of-accommodation-scams-645920\" class=\"block w-2\/5 shrink-0\" aria-label=\"Donegal students warned of accommodation scams\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/donegal-students-warned-of-accommodation-scams.png\" class=\"max-w-full w-full h-full object-contain relative z-10\" width=\"150\" height=\"84\"  alt=\"Donegal students warned of accommodation scams\" \/><\/p>\n<p>            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.donegaldaily.com\/uncategorized\/special-focus-on-tip-oneill-award-honourees-kate-barton-645842\" class=\"block w-2\/5 shrink-0\" aria-label=\"Special focus on Tip O&#039;Neill Award honourees - Kate Barton\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/special-focus-on-tip-o-039-neill-award-honourees-kate-barton.jpg\" class=\"max-w-full w-full h-full object-contain relative z-10\" width=\"150\" height=\"84\"  alt=\"Special focus on Tip O'Neill Award honourees - Kate Barton\" \/><\/p>\n<p>            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>The case is included in CAB&#8217;s annual report.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, the Bureau returned almost \u20ac15 million to the exchequer.<\/p>\n<p>That included nearly \u20ac3.5 million from the priceeds of crime, just under \u20ac10.8m in revenue and \u20ac655,000 on social protection.<\/p>\n<p>The Bureau conducted 37 search operations consisting of 208 individual searches in 16 counties and the work also included search operations in Spain.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe high number of search operations is evidence of ongoing excellent cooperation between the Bureau, all Garda Divisions and international partners,\u201d the report said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Bureau also successfully progressed and sold 18 properties during the year which resulted in gross sales of \u20ac4.377m.<\/p>\n<p>Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said: \u201cFor local communities, the removal of criminal assets has a significance beyond the monetary value.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt removes the visible rewards of crime, weakens the influence on those who use wealth to intimidate or impress. The Bureau\u2019s actions send an important message that criminality is not a legitimate route to status, power or success.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Donegal couple was ordered to hand back almost \u20ac90,000 after a Criminal Assets Bureau investigation uncovered a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596977,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-596976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596976","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=596976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}