Cash posted to 'fictitious' person is forfeited to State

A judge at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has ordered the forfeiture of €6,700 in cash intercepted at an An Post sorting facility in south Dublin. The package, which arrived from the United States in June 2020, was addressed to a Michael Wilbald at a Sligo town residence. A Revenue-trained detector dog alerted officers to the presence of cash, which was subsequently located inside a blank greeting card. Following investigation by the Revenue Commissioners, no person of that name could be identified through Department of Social Welfare or Revenue records, and enquiries at the address confirmed no such resident lived there. Subsequent letters to the addressee went unanswered, and attempts to trace the sender proved unsuccessful. A second package containing cash and addressed to a different person at the same location was later discovered and remains under investigation. Judge Elma Sheahan found the evidence satisfied her that the cash represented proceeds of criminal conduct and ordered its forfeiture to the State.