Following Garda raids in the midwest yesterday, the FBI agent in charge of the US-based investigation of counterfeit spare parts for aircraft has said its successful conclusion would have major implications for the industry.
"Operation Phoenix" - named after the Phoenix division of the FBI in Arizona which initiated the investigation - began at 7 a.m. yesterday in the midwest region when gardai, acting on search warrants, simultaneously entered 12 premises in Shannon, Limerick, Ennis and Sixmilebridge.
FBI Special Agent Mr Guadalupe Gonzalez said there was an ongoing investigation into counterfeit spare parts in the US which had resulted in the request for co-operation from the Garda under the mutual assistance scheme, whereby participating countries co-operate on matters of common investigation.
The attorney general in Arizona, it is understood, made the application to the Attorney General, Mr Michael McDowell, last spring, though local gardai only became involved this week. Search warrants were issued in Dublin Metropolitan District Court on Monday. The focus was on the headquarters of Smyth Aerospace Manufacturing, a small, family-run company in the Shannon Free Zone industrial estate.
The company has about 20 employees, a number of whom are understood to be related to its founder, Mr Joseph Smith (63), a US citizen, who set up the business three years ago. Neither he nor a company representative was available for comment yesterday.
Mr Gonzalez said he could not give details of the investigation because it "has not been indicted yet".
An investigation of this type did not occur often, he added. "We are always very attentive to the aircraft industry and to safety in the air because of the different accidents that have occurred in the US and around the world."
There are three FBI agents accompanying a large number of gardai as observers.
The investigation could lead to extradition proceedings if a prima-facie case is established. However, Chief Supt Liam Quinn of the Clare division, who is leading the investigation, said if there was evidence of criminality under Irish law, then a prosecution case could be mounted here.
Meanwhile, the Irish Aviation Authority stated it was aware of the investigation and was co-operating with gardai. It was checking the possibility that suspect spare parts could have been supplied to the industry, but said there was no risk to airlines.
Nine of the search warrants were served on private homes, two were on business premises in the Shannon area and one was on the warehouse in the industrial estate. One of the businesses being examined is a supplier of parts to the airline industry.