Gardaí from the Criminal Assets Bureau are to prepare a file for the Director of Public Prosecutions after last night releasing without charge a 51-year-old man arrested for questioning about prostitution in Cork.
The man was arrested at his home in a north Cork village at about 7.30am yesterday by Cab officers under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. He was brought to the Bridewell Garda station where he was questioned for several hours before being released without charge.
The arrest follows a major operation in Cork last April when detectives from Cab arrested and questioned three men and three women and seized a substantial amount of cash in an inquiry into prostitution, money laundering and the proceeds of crime.
Yesterday's arrest and those last April are part of Operation Boulder, under which some 17 premises in Cork were raided by gardaí in November 2006. Among the premises raided were several sex shops which gardaí believe are fronts for massage parlours and brothels.
Gardaí also raided a number of offices in November 2006 and seized cash as well as a large amount of documentation as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering linked to prostitution.