Crime « Thurles Information

Ireland’s Multi-Million-Euro Puppy Trade Exposed On BBC’s Spotlight Broadcast.

Poor enforcement of existing laws by Department of Agriculture & Local Authorities highlighted.

Ireland’s shocking multi-million-euro puppy trade was exposed by a BBC investigation broadcast on Tuesday night last. The Spotlight programme showed how thousands of pups, some sick and dying, and often crammed into boxes, are being smuggled into Scotland, same having begun their life under most unsatisfactory conditions.

The BBC investigation team revealed 25,000 to 30,000 pups from the Irish Republic are being smuggled from puppy farms and backstreet breeders here in Ireland, into Scotland and mainland UK each year, through the Port of Belfast in Northern Ireland.

Undeniable video footage, same of which depicted upsetting scenes, were shown of these unfortunate animals; some seriously ill even before they had begun their journey; some travelling without food and water; some gasping for air, some cowering in terror. Many die because of the squalid conditions in which they are bred, while others die after being purchased by unwitting families. t was fairly established that most of these dogs come from the Irish Republic.

Mr Brian Gillen, head of the Dublin SPCA, told the ‘Spotlight’ team that there was, he believed, more money in smuggling pups, than in smuggling drugs, yet there are no real penalties if discovered puppy smuggling.
The Irish Government has yet to introduce any real penalties and if those in the puppy trade smuggle 100 pups at an asking price of £1,000 per pup in many cases, you have £100,000. Back-street breeders are using back garden sheds to breed because there is so much easy money to be made, if animals are smuggled in the boots of vehicles, or concealed in stifling cargo.

Most smugglers are never caught or identified, but for those who are, fines are minuscule within the Irish Republic. When one named dealer was stopped by Gardaí in the Tipperary area, we understand from this broadcast that he had 50 to 60 puppies.

EU regulations ban the export of pups aged under 15 weeks, in an effort to ensure they have been fully vaccinated against disease. Puppy smuggling gangs are now using UK microchips and passports while inserting the chips into the dogs to disguise their initial origins

Poor enforcement of existing laws by the Department of Agriculture and by Local Authorities, ensure that the distressful and heart-rending scenes which were highlighted by the BBC on Tuesday night last, will continue sustained and uninterrupted.

Minister For Justice Acknowledges 25th Anniversary of Criminal Assets Bureau.

Criminal Assets Bureau established 25 years ago today.

Minister acknowledges the enormous contribution of this innovative law enforcement agency.

The Minister for Justice, Ms Heather Humphreys TD, has marked the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Criminal Assets Bureau with Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Chief Bureau Officer, Detective Chief Superintendent Michael Gubbins.

The then Government of the time established the Bureau following the murder of the journalist Veronica Guerin and the subsequent enactment of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 and the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996.

Speaking at today’s press conference, Minister Humphreys stated,
“It is a great honour for me in my capacity as both Minister for Justice and Minister for Social Protection to congratulate the Criminal Assets Bureau on its 25th anniversary. The Bureau has been one of the great success stories in Irish law enforcement. Since its inception, the Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime in this jurisdiction and disrupting the activities of criminal gangs, by depriving them of ill-gotten assets.”

CAB recently published their annual report for 2020. Some of the notable recent actions in 2020 include in excess of €4.2 million being returned to the Exchequer and thirty-one new applications before the High Court under Proceeds of Crime legislation.

Minister Humphreys added,
“The key to the success of the Bureau is the multi-agency team approach comprising Gardaí, customs officers, revenue officials and social protection personnel. Over the last 25 years, the Bureau has retrieved hundreds of millions of euros in proceeds of crime, unpaid taxes and fraudulently obtained welfare payments. The Bureau has had some notable recent success with seizures of cryptocurrencies and the return of €5.5million of misappropriated funds to the Federal Republic of Nigeria“.
“The Government is committed to supporting the future development and success of the Bureau and it is correct that we mark the 25th anniversary of its establishment with the creation of the Community Safety Innovation Fund, which will reflect the success of the CAB by providing additional funding for projects which will increase community safety”.

The Minister continued, “I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all past and current members of the Bureau for their exemplary service to the State and for their contribution to making the Criminal Assets Bureau such a success”.

Cannabis, Cocaine & Alprozolam Tablets Seized By Tipperary Gardaí.

In a joint operation between Cashel and Thurles Drugs Units, latter involved on investigating the sale and supply of controlled drugs and other controlled substances within the Cashel and Thurles areas; has led to the seizure of approximately €16,000 of Cannabis, Cocaine and Alprozolam tablets.

Alprazolam tablets, which act on the brain and central nervous system when consumed, can increase the risk of serious life-threatening breathing problems or a coma, if used along with certain other medications, such as codeine.

On October 8th, 2021, a van was stopped and searched outside Cashel Town. Same search, by Gardaí, led to the location and seizure of Cannabis to the value of €5,000.

In a follow up operation, the conducted search of a house in the Dualla area of Cashel, led to a further €11,000 of Cannabis, Cocaine and Alprozolam being located. Latter located narcotic substances, plus cash to the tune of €4,000, were also seized.

One man was arrested and interviewed in Cahir Garda Station. A file will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

‘Paw-Parents’ Worried About Noise From Illegal Fireworks

During the Covid-19 pandemic of the last 20 or so months, many households became first-time ‘paw-parents’, buying puppies or rescuing dogs held in shelters. These new ‘paw-parents’ did so in the knowledge that a pet could be the cure to keeping family members from tearing each other’s hair out, as they cocooned together, with more time to spare, corralled at home.

Now, according to the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA), same owners of these pets are extremely worried by the noise soon to be generated by illegal fireworks, the use of which becomes an increasing problem in the weeks before, during and after the Halloween period.

In the past, here in Co. Tipperary, thankfully for a short time only, fireworks were fashionable to entertain guests at weddings. Hotels, newly married couples, Insurance companies and professional licenced fireworks operators soon found themselves in legal wrangles, particularly by members of the farming community, when frightened mares lost their foals and terrorised cattle lost their calves or bursting through wire fences, ended up having to be put down, because of broken limbs.

**Fireworks, valued at some €1,000 seized by Clonmel Gardaí**.

Recently the Minister for Justice, Ms Heather Humphreys, launched a fireworks awareness campaign at the Dublin Fire Brigade Training Centre in association with members of An Garda Síochána, Dublin Fire Brigade and the ISPCA. The Minister warned that people who sell or light fireworks this Halloween face fines of up to €10,000 and or up to five years in prison.

Legislation came into effect in 2006, which make it an offence to possess fireworks with intent to sell or supply without a licence; light unlicensed fireworks, or throw or direct a lit firework at any person or property.

Gardaí attached to Clonmel Garda Station in South Tipperary, carried out a search under warrant in the Oldbridge area of Clonmel on September 27th last. During the course of this search, a large amount of fireworks, valued at some €1,000, were seized.

Gardaí are now reminding the public that such items are illegal and dangerous. Gardaí are continuing to target the sale and supply of fireworks and to address such anti-social behaviour in communities; same part of “Operation Tombola“.

Fireworks include items which burn and explode to produce noise or a visual effect for entertainment. Sparklers, bangers, fountains and rockets are all categorised as fireworks.

Most fireworks here in the Irish Republic can only be bought and used by professional, licenced operators. They require a licence to import them into Ireland and the way they are stored and used is strictly regulated by our laws on explosives.

Let’s all work together to have a safe and fun Halloween this year!

Beware Of Mobile Text Scams & Fake Emails

The latest text scams being sent to mobile phones and via fake email messages are making claims that they represent An Post, the Irish postal service, and involves customs payment for a package.

Those receiving these texts are being asked to pay import duty/tax and an advance fee for a parcel to be processed through the Irish postal service.

A link can be found at the bottom of the text usually using ‘anpost.ie.shipping-updates.co’ where unsuspecting customers, foolish enough to upload same are being asked to enter their personal information.

An Post are now warning their customers:-
“We are aware of fraudsters sending fake emails and texts to customers pretending to be from An Post. We are asking customers to remain vigilant and be ‘scam aware’.
“An Post will never send urgent requests or threats, use shortened links, [for example Bit.ly], or send messages that contain any links when contacting you about the payment of Customs Charges.”

If you want to find out where your personal data was acquired, chances are it was hacked in an incident where data was unintentionally exposed to the public, by e.g. ADOBE, Audi, Facebook, Dropbox, epik, LinkedIn, Myspace, eatigo etc, etc.. Compromised data obtained from these hacked sites include:- Email addresses, Names, Phone numbers, Physical addresses, Purchases and more.

You can checkout who may have unintentionally exposed your personal information by CLICKING HERE, or entering into your search panel the phrase “Have I Been Pwned”. Enter just your email address or your phone number, before scrolling down the page to discover who exposed your data.

Collection #1 remains the name of a set of email addresses and passwords that appeared on the ‘dark web’ possibly in January 2019. This database contains over 773 million unique email addresses and 21 million unique passwords, resulting in more than 2.7 billion email/password pairs.