The Criminal Assets Bureau has carried out a series of raids in four counties today, targeting a Chinese crime gang believed responsible for organising a network of cannabis growhouses.

Officers froze €40,000 in a bank account, suspected of being the proceeds of crime, and seized documentation, mobile phones and computers during the searches.

CAB raided houses in Blanchardstown in west Dublin, Terenure in south Dublin and properties in north Cork and south Tipperary.

Officers also searched a solicitor's office in Co Laois and an accountant's office in the centre of Dublin.

CAB officers were backed up by members of the Emergency Response Unit and the Garda National Immigration Bureau as well as local personnel.

The operation is part of an overall investigation, involving several garda national and local units, into the activities of a Chinese gang, suspected of being the masterminds behind a growhouse network.

Three growhouses have already been identified as linked to the gang but further inquiries are being carried out as officers extend their investigation into the cultivation, sale and supply of controlled drugs.

Officers believe members of the gang have been investing the proceeds of their highly lucrative cannabis growing activities in property around the country.

Suspected members of the gang are based in Dublin but their growhouses are located in north Cork, south Tipperary and Co Laois.

Documents, phones and electronic devices seized today will now be forensically examined by CAB analysts as they build up a case against the suspect.

Officers said today's operation was part of an evidence gathering exercise and there were no arrests at this stage.

Online Editors