11 people have been arrested in Kilrush in connection with illegal money lending.
The arrests were made at several locations in the West Clare Town over the past number of hours as part of a major, pre-planned Garda operation.
‘Operation Payday’ – as it’s being called – got underway with searches from around 7 o’clock.
Between the hours of 11 o’clock and 12 noon, Gardaí arrested five men and 6 women at various locations around the town of Kilrush.
As of lunchtime, searches are continuing at a number of business premises and private residences in the West Clare Town as part of the major investigation which has been on-going for several months and centres around complaints received from various individuals and is focused on persons suspected to be engaged in unlicensed money lending.
This major operation involved local Gardaí assisted by Criminal Assets Bureau, Regional Support Unit, Special Dectective Units from Galway, the National Criminal Intelligence Unit as well as officials from Revenue, Social Welfare and Clare County Council.
The 11 people arrested include five men aged between 18 and 55, and six women aged between 20 and 49.
They’re being detained at various Garda Stations in Counties Clare, Limerick and Galway under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
