Customs seeks further detention of £7,000 seized at Rosslare Europort

An officer of Customs and Excise will apply to Gorey District Court on 7 October 2026 for an order authorising the further detention of approximately £7,000 in cash seized at Rosslare Europort on 7 October 2025. The application is published in Iris Oifigiúil No. 79 of 2 October 2026, under section 38 of the Criminal Justice Act 1994, as amended by section 20 of the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2005.

The notice, headed “Notice of Application for an Order Authorising the Further Detention of Cash Seized”, appears in the District Court section of the gazette under Gorey District Court, District Court Area 23. It is brought in the name of Colin Hayes, an Officer of Customs and Excise of Customs Investigations, Block D, Ashtowngate, Navan Road, Dublin 15, while the respondent is recorded only as Person Unknown.

The cash was seized and detained on 7 October 2025 at Rosslare Europort in exercise of powers under subsection (1A) of section 38 of the 1994 Act. An earlier order made at Gorey District Court on 22 July 2026 authorised its detention for a period of three months, until 21 October 2026. The sum is described as an amount not less than the prescribed sum set by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform for the purposes of the Act.

Grounds advanced for the further detention

The applicant will ask the court to hold that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that:

• the cash was being imported;
• the cash directly or indirectly represented the proceeds of crime; and/or
• the cash was intended for use in connection with criminal conduct.

The notice states that continued detention of the cash is justified while its origin or derivation is further investigated and/or while consideration is given to the institution, whether in the State or elsewhere, of criminal proceedings against any person for an offence with which the cash is connected.

Where and when the application will be heard

The application will be made at the sitting of Gorey District Court to be held at Court No. 1, Gorey Court House, Gorey, Co. Wexford, on 7 October 2026 at 10:30 a.m. The key particulars published are:

• Amount: approximately £7,000 in cash;
• Seizure date and place: 7 October 2025, Rosslare Europort;
• Previous order: 22 July 2026, authorising three months’ detention;
• Current detention expiry: 21 October 2026;
• Hearing: 7 October 2026, 10:30 a.m., Court No. 1, Gorey Court House;
• Applicant: Colin Hayes, Officer of Customs and Excise;
• Respondent: Person Unknown.

The notice is dated 1 October 2026 and signed by Colin Hayes as applicant.

Service by advertisement

Permission to serve notice of the proceedings by way of advertisement in the Irish Independent newspaper was granted on 1 October 2026 and signed by Catriona Murray, Judge of the District Court. The proceedings are listed under the Criminal Justice Act 1994, section 38, as amended by section 20 of the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2005.

The notice illustrates how cash-detention powers under the 1994 Act are renewed in public: the three-month order expires on 21 October 2026, so Customs and Excise must return to the District Court before that date to keep the money held while investigators trace its origin and weigh possible criminal proceedings. Because the respondent is unidentified, advertisement in a national newspaper is the mechanism by which any interested party is put on notice of the hearing.

Source: Iris Oifigiúil, No. 79, 2 October 2026, Section I (official reference: Notice of Application for an Order Authorising the Further Detention of Cash Seized, Criminal Justice Act 1994, section 38).