Spanish authorities arrested two Real IRA operatives on May 7 in Malaga, Spain who had been under surveillance since 2004. The two?identified as Thomas Philip Cawley and Aaron William Jordan?were suspected of being key leaders of an IRA fundraising effort. Both have since been moved to Madrid.
The two were residing in Spain in cities with significant expatriate communities, so as to blend it inconspicuously. Spanish authorities contend that “various British citizens of Northern Irish origin living along the Mediterranean coast who collaborated directly with these armed groups,” were involved in fundraising efforts. In all likelihood, the network was much larger that these two men.
The Spanish Interior Ministry alleges that the two were part of a larger network of Irish terrorists?specifically, from the Real IRA?raising money for the group by selling, among other things, contraband cigarettes. The men were linked to two trucks with 500,000 packs of cigarettes worth more than 1 million Euro (US$1.2 million), unidentified documents, and 2,900 Euro (US$3,700) in cash. The raid took place as the trucks were sent out of a warehouse in Guadalhorce district of Malaga. Witnesses saw the duo receiving a delivery of cigarettes that authorities contend was intended for distribution in the UK.
According to UK authorities, illegal tobacco sales are a key revenue stream for Northern Ireland terrorist groups. In March 2006, Thomas “Slab” Murphy’s estate on the Irish border was raided on the same grounds; authorities confiscated 30,000 cigarettes, along with forged documents, substantial cash, numerous vehicles, and excessive amounts of fuel. Murphy is the former chief of staff for the Provisional IRA , from which the Real IRA splintered in the aftermath of its Omagh terrorist attack in 1998 . Neither the Real IRA nor the Continuity IRA has stood down for peace accords. And, both are suspected to be actively raising funds through illicit transactions and black market sales. That the Real IRA has been fingered for this particular operation has opened wounds from Omagh survivors that the group has yet to be eliminated.
Of late, the IRA splinter groups have been nominally more active. Just last week, police uncovered a large cache of explosives believed to be linked to either the RIRA or CRIA . And, in mid-April, three former PIRA members were arrested for hijacking a truck for what may have been more nefarious intentions .
Smuggling routes for cigarettes are often also used for smuggling illicit weaponry, explosives narcotics, and humans. These routes exist throughout the world but have come to the fore in the US homeland security arena in keeping illegal immigrant smuggling routes from including radical Islamic terrorists. It is imperative that the Spanish authorities continue their investigation into this network to shut down any subsequent or expanded operations, so as to stem the flow if illegal money and transactions. The joint effort and information sharing that went on between the Brits and the Spanish (and has also been going on between the Spanish and the French vis-?-vis ETA ) is commendable, and lessons from this case should be disseminated and operationalized by first responders around the world.
