THREE men have been charged with a number of offences after officers from the PSNI’s Woodbourne Neighbourhood Policing Team assisted the Economic Crime Unit in carrying out a search and arrest operation on Monday 7 November, as part of an investigation into a multi-million pound fraud and money-laundering operation.
In partnership with officers from the Tactical Support Group and the Police Service's Dog Unit searches were conducted in the Belfast area.
A 39-year-old man has been charged with three counts of Possession of Articles for Use in Frauds, one count of conspiracy, and one count of entering into an arrangement by virtue of the Proceeds of Crime Act.
A 40-year-old man has been charged with 22 counts of Possession of Articles for use in Frauds, one count of Fraud by False Representation, two counts of conspiracy, and two counts of entering into an arrangement by virtue of the Proceeds of Crime Act.
A 44-year-old man has been charged with seven counts of Possession of Articles for Use in Frauds, one count of conspiracy, and one count of entering into an arrangement by virtue of the Proceeds of Crime Act.
They are due to appear before Belfast Magistrates Court on Friday 2 December.
As is usual procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.
Detective Sergeant Loreen Glenn from the Organised Crime Branch said: “Money laundering is often a critical enabler of organised criminality. We believe that the majority of this money is derived from a range of criminal activity carried out by organised crime gangs and could total in excess of £3 million.
“We are committed to keeping people safe by robustly pursuing those who are involved in laundering criminally-derived money and enabling criminals to access the profits gained from their involvement in a range of illegal activities.
"We are also considering that so-called 'money mules' have been in use during these frauds. ‘Money Mules’ refer to persons that transfer stolen money on behalf of others, usually through their bank account, often vulnerable people in dire need of money are targeted for this practice.
“These searches and arrests are an important development in our ongoing work in tackling the threat that serious and organised crime poses. I would appeal for anyone with any information on this type of activity to contact us on 101 or call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
