Ireland: Homes Raided Over Rhino Horn Thefts

Dozens of homes have been raided in an international police investigation into the theft of valuable rhino horns.

An organised crime gang, reportedly linked to a large traveller family originally from the west of Ireland, is believed to have netted goods and artefacts worth 40m euro (£34m) in a string of robberies.

Armed police from the Republic's Criminal Asset Bureau (Cab) raided homes in the Rathkeale and Raheen areas of Limerick and in Newmarket in Cork.

One of the gangs suspected of involvement in the thefts has been nicknamed the Rathkeale Rovers.

A large amount of documentation, a small amount of cash, some artefacts and paintings were recovered and confiscated during the operation.

No arrests were made.

The raids were in the west of Ireland

Police said the raids were part of the ongoing investigation into the assets and financial affairs of a gang suspected of extensive criminality including labour exploitation, counterfeiting, tarmac scams, tobacco smuggling and the theft of rhino horns and rare Chinese cultural artefacts.

There have been more than 60 recorded thefts of rhino horns and Asian art from museums and private collections across Europe over the past three years.

For the past two years, Europol has been tracking a suspected Irish organised crime gang which, it warned, is one of the most significant players in the illegal global trade in rhino horns.

The gang, which is believed to have links to North and South America, China and Australia and is said to use "intimidation and violence" in its activities, is wanted over robberies in Italy, Germany and the UK.

The latest rhino horn theft hit museum bosses in Ireland in April this year, despite them being put into storage for safekeeping.

Due to the level of the robberies, some European museums have replaced the real rhino horns with copies and some of these were stolen, one in Germany.

Rhino horn, which consists only of keratin, is sold in Chinese traditional medicine and claimed to be anything from an aphrodisiac to a cure for a hangover or cancer or even just a decoration.

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