Gardai found €159k hidden in engine of Mercedes truck

Gardai investigating serious crime found more than €159,000 in the sump of a Mercedes truck engine that was being prepared for export to Holland, Trim District Court was told today (TUESDAY).

The court was hearing an application under the Police Property Act for disposal of the money. Detective Sergeant Emmet Casserly of the Garda Drug and Organised Crime Unit gave evidence that €159,370 had come into the possession of the Garda. It had been concealed in the sump of the engine of an old Mercedes truck designated to be sent to Holland.

Gardai believed that the money had come about as a result of criminal activity. A courier who was unaware of any transaction was sent to a yard at Kilkerley where he was met by a person in a Northern Ireland-registered van. That person had not been identified and while the van itself had been sold at an auction in Dundalk a short time bforehand the buyer had given a false name and address in Dundalk.

The yard owner was also unaware of any suspicious activity and had told Gardai that the yard was sometimes used as a pick-up and drop-off point. CCTV in the yard did not cover the area where the courier had met the van.

The detective said that enquiries had also been made with Mercedes to see if the engine number could identify the owner of the engine but this was unsuccessful because while Mercedes could supply engine ownership details for the engines just before and after the engine the Garda enquired about, they had no details of this engine itself. Judge Cormac Dunne made an order forfeiting the money to the State.