A team of up to 40 gardaí, including officers from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, yesterday raided a number of premises belonging to two doctors in the mid-west.
Backed up by several inspectors from the Irish Medicines Board they seized files, medical equipment and other specimens from properties owned by Dr Paschal Carmody and Dr William Porter in the Killaloe area of Co Clare and the Ballina area of Co Tipperary.
The operation is part of a major Garda investigation into the two doctors, who have provided an alternative light therapy treatment for cancer patients. Patients were charged up to €20,000 for the therapy.
A review of 48 patients treated by the doctors in late 2002 and early 2003 found 17 had died within six months of treatment and many suffered after-effects. After seeing the review, published in a US medical journal, the Medical Council asked the Garda to investigate.
The investigation has been ongoing for a number of weeks and the next-of-kin of a number of patients who were treated by the doctors have given statements to gardaí.
They maintain the doctors made misleading claims about the treatment they offered.
These families also met the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, in May and after hearing their stories Mr Martin said he believed they had been treated in a "callous" way.
Mr Martin has confirmed that since then he met the Garda Commissioner "with a view to exploring any potential sanctions in relation to this case".
The treatment provided by the doctors is called cytoluminescent therapy or CLT, which Dr Porter has claimed is an advanced form of photodynamic therapy (PDT), a recognised treatment for some superficial cancers.
Dr Carmody was recently struck off the medical register for professional misconduct. An inquiry into his practice followed complaints about his use of the alternative light therapy and his conviction in the District Court for the manufacture and supply of unauthorised medicines.
Dr Porter, an American eye surgeon, was struck off for gross negligence in California before he moved to Ireland.
Following the Garda raid yesterday, Dr Porter told The Irish Times it was a scandal that the therapy he offers is not being used on a wider scale in Ireland. He claimed everything was being done to suppress the treatment in Ireland, even though it was an overwhelmingly accepted therapy by the best institutes in the US. He said he had scientific papers which showed that the treatment was effective for up to 19 different types of cancer, including the treatment of deep- seated cancers.
"These studies have been done all over the world. I have full faith in the therapy . . . The people are not being told about the option and that to me is scandalous," he said. He added that it had been more than two months since he had treated a patient in Killaloe. He parted company with Dr Carmody several months ago once Dr Carmody ran into difficulties with the Medical Council.
The properties raided yesterday included two houses owned by Dr Porter at Marina Village in Ballina; Dr Carmody's private house at Ballycuggaran, his East Clinic in Killaloe and his guesthouse near Killaloe.