Five men due in court today following searches of 22 businesses premises in Tullamore

FIVE men are due to appear in Tullamore District Court today, Wednesday October 13 relating to offences contrary to Section 12 of the Immigratoin Act, 2004 and the Employments Permits Act 2003.

The men were arrested after a number of businesses in Tullamore were targeted in a multi-agency operation led by the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

The operation which took place last Thursday October 7, was aimed at business premises in the Tullamore area, it involved officers from GNIB, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and the Department of Social Protection.

This investigation arises from ongoing multi-agency cooperation between the Departments which identified suspected abuses of Department of Social Welfare and Social Welfare fraud.

The search consisted of 22 separate business premises being subjected to unannounced inspections and five men aged from 38 to 47 years were arrested.

All five were charged with these offences and bailed to appear before Tullamore District Court today.