A speedboat and a jet ski linked to two men killed in a gangland feud have been labelled as crime proceeds by the High Court.
Lawyers for the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) on Wednesday alleged in the civil court that Zachary Parker (23) and Seán Little (22), who were both killed in separate shootings in 2019, were members of an organised crime group known as “the Gucci Gang”.
The court heard gardaí believe the Gucci Gang is heavily involved in the sale and supply of controlled drugs and that Mr Parker was a “close associate” of the gang’s leader.
Mr Parker was shot dead outside a gym in Swords, north Dublin, in January 2019, while he was sitting in his BMW X5. The Cab alleged in the High Court that he was “one of the most prominent suppliers of drugs in the Swords area” before his death.
In May 2019, Mr Little, who is alleged to have been a close associate of Mr Parker’s, was found dead next to his burning Vauxhall Insignia after being shot multiple times at a laneway in Walshestown, north Dublin.
In an affidavit to the High Court, chief bureau officer Michael Gubbins said the speed boat and jet ski were seized during a search of a storage unit rented by Mr Parker in Balbriggan, north Dublin. The search came in the aftermath of Mr Parker’s killing.
Mr Gubbins said gardaí believe the jet ski and speedboat were purchased with crime cash and were in the possession and control of Mr Parker and Mr Little before they were killed. Together the items have a value of more than €11,000, the court heard.
Another bureau officer swore a statement averring that there was no evidence to indicate either of the deceased men could afford expensive recreational items such as the jet ski and speedboat from their legitimate income or funds.
The Cab’s application, seeking to have the items deemed proceeds of crime, was brought against Mr Little’s parents, Bernadette and Stephen Little, and Mr Parker’s mother, Siobhan Parker, as the people otherwise entitled to possession of the property.
The court heard the parents were served but have no interest in making a claim for the assets.
The application, made under the Proceeds of Crime Act, was presented to the court by barrister Morgan Shelley, who said the items were purchased with cash in “strange circumstances”.
Mr Justice Alexander Owens said both of the deceased men were “up to their necks in organised crime”.
He said Mr Parker had some “small income” from a hair salon but was then in receipt of jobseekers’ allowance until his death. There were a number of cash lodgments, totalling €38,000, made into his bank account, the judge noted.
He was satisfied he could make orders ruling that the speedboat and jet ski derived in part or in whole from crime proceeds. His decision was based on the civil standard of proof, which is the “balance of probabilities”.
The judge also gave the bureau’s legal officer permission to sell the assets.
