Five people were still being questioned at three separate Garda stations last night in relation to an 'invoice redirection' fraud valued at almost €500,000 which occurred at Dublin Zoo.

The three men and two women, who are aged between their 20s and 60s, are also being quizzed about a similar theft of more than €250,000, which happened at an education company which services Co Meath and Co Louth.

Invoice redirection fraud happens when a business falls prey to requests, purporting to come from trusted suppliers or service providers, and is persuaded that a beneficiary's bank account details have been changed. As a result, funds that are due to be paid out are transferred to a fraudulent account.

The five people arrested in dawn swoops yesterday are all suspected of being part of an organised crime network and originally from the Indian sub-continent.

In the case of Dublin Zoo, it was hit on three separate occasions in October and November.

Irish Independent