A man has been brought before the Dublin District Court charged in connection with the abduction of a bank official and his wife and the robbery of €300,000.
29-year-old Raymond Rea from Rye Bridge Close, Kilcock in Co Kildare is the first person charged with an offence under the Criminal Justice Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act 2010, which was introduced this year to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
Three other people arrested this morning are still being questioned.
Mr Rea is accused of handling, possessing or acquiring €30,000, the proceeds of crime, at his home in Rye Bridge Close, Kilcock in Co Kildare last Saturday.
Detective Sergeant Joseph Molloy gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution.
He told the court that Mr Rea replied ‘nothing to say’ when charged this afternoon.
He was granted free legal aid after he told the judge that he was employed at the time but not now.
Gardaí objected to bail on the grounds of the seriousness of the charge, the fact that it refers to a small sum of money from a larger sum that's still missing, and that transport and firearms used in the crime had not been recovered.
Det Sgt Molloy wrote three names on a piece of paper which was handed to Mr Rea in court.
When he agreed not to contact the named people, Judge William Hamill remanded him in custody with consent to bail to appear at Cloverhill District Court next Thursday.
He also directed that he surrender his passport, sign on daily and be available to be contacted by the gardaí at any time between 10pm and 7am.
