Following an operation involving Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau officers and specialist gardaí, Thomas Murphy (58), once believed to be the chief of staff of the Provisional IRA, was reportedly charged last night with several offences under tax legislation and for failing to file tax returns between 1996 and 2004.

The Irish Times, quoting ‘sources’, identified Murphy as a man ‘in his fifties’ who had been arrested in the Dundalk area and detained at Drogheda Garda station. He will appear at a sitting of the district court in Ardee at 10am today.

Murphy reputedly has built up a fortune of between £35m to £40m from money laundering and smuggling and has been under security force surveillance for many years although never convicted.

He owns a farm on the Louth-Armagh border which was searched in 2006 as part of an investigation by revenue police. In a statement in 2006, Murphy denied charges that he was involved in smuggling and tax evasion.

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