Gardaí investigating romance fraud have arrested a man in Dublin.
The arrest comes as part of an ongoing investigation by Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) personnel into the laundering of the proceeds of romance and phishing frauds.
On Tuesday morning, gardaí carried out two searches in the Citywest and Finglas areas of Dublin.
Banking documents, a laptop and a phone were seized during the operation.
A man, aged in his 40s, was arrested after the search operation in Finglas. He was arrested for gangland offences, contrary to Section 72 Criminal Justice Act, 2006.
The man is currently detained under the provisions of Section 50 Criminal Justice Act 2007 at Terenure Garda Station, and he can be held for up to seven days.
According to Gardaí, the investigation has found that a number of bank accounts were created under false names and approximately €660,000 has been laundered through the accounts.
It is understood that the money was gathered through romance fraud that was operating in Germany between October 2020 and February 2021.
In one particular case, an elderly woman was allegedly defrauded out of €230,000.
Gardaí have said that investigations are ongoing.
