In the week when the High Court granted an interim order to the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) freezing more than 1m in cash and assets seized during the raids, the Sunday Tribune has learned that customs officers also had to roll up their sleeves and help with a calf 's birth.

"When the customs officers arrived at Mr Murphy's farm, they arrived into the house to find he was not home, " said a Customs and Excise source. "During subsequent outdoor searches, they discovered large amounts of cash and cheques in one shed.

"Then they went into another to find a cow calving and one of the customs officers, who happened to be from an agricultural background, had to roll up his sleeves and help out.

"After the calf was born, one of the customs officers had to help the calf stand up."

Top Irish veterinary surgeon Peter Wedderburn explained, "When a calf is born, a mother usually licks the calf clean before the calf staggers to its feet and sucks the mother. In this case, it sounds as if the cow didn't tend to the calf so the calf was left covered in membranes.

"So the customs officers probably had to wipe the calf clean with straw. After that, they would have had to help it to its feet and over to suck on its mother. The first milk a calf gets after birth is called colustrum milk and this is the most important milk a calf can get as it is high in energy, protein and anti-bodies."

A spokesman for the Revenue Commissioners said, "We cannot comment on an operational matter such as the raid on Mr Murphy's farm."