An Irishman accused of running a car dealing racket across the Eire/Northern Ireland border has been jailed for contempt of court.

John Kane, also known as Alex Kane, who runs an SUV dealership in Longford, has been locked up for a week for his "flagrant" disregard of a court order freezing his assets during the investigation.

The court appointed a receiver last July to his business, Kanes of Granard, after a 10m euro judgement was made against them for tax evasion.

However Kane removed cars from the business without the consent of the receiver, and checks showed that other vehicles had been sold to people who didn't exist.