Over 150 gardai carried out a major raid on a halting site – amid fears that a Traveller feud was about to seriously escalate.
Dozens of Garda vehicles stopped traffic in north Dublin as they raced towards the site near Belcamp in Coolock yesterday – amid fears that a Traveller gang were storing weapons for a future hit. Sources say a bitter feud has been escalating between warring criminal factions in the Travelling community – and officers moved to clamp down on the gangs before violence erupted.
Gardai were also hoping to target the gang’s money laundering activities and to stifle their ability to continue their criminal enterprise. One of the main targets of the searches is understood to be a notorious criminal who has over 100 convictions to his name.
The criminal, who has long been a target of investigators, is currently before the courts on serious charges and therefore cannot be named. He and his mob have long been suspected of being involved in burglaries across the country – and in drug trafficking.
They are a well known operation in the area and have had links to the infamous crime boss often referred to as ‘Mr Big.’ It is understood gardai discovered over €100,000 of suspected drugs in the searches so far – which continued well into the day.
Over 150 Garda members are involved in the operation
(Image: Garda Press Office)
Elite officers from the National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, Armed Support Unit, Public Order Unit, National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, National Economic Bureau, the Dog Unit and officers from across the Dublin Metropolitan North Region carried out searches under warrant at 39 properties as part of the operation. In a press release gardai said the “major search operation” was targeting organised crime gangs in the Coolock and Raheny areas of north Dublin.
They further stated that the operation was targeting a number of organised criminal gangs which are operating nationwide and who are suspected of being involved in organised crimes such as burglaries, drug trafficking, counterfeiting, theft and other property crimes. In an update last night gardai said they had seized weapons – along with suspected illegal cannabis with an approximate value of €160,000, €22,000 worth of cocaine, designer watches and clothing worth around €161,000 and industrial power tools worth around €30,000.
Gardai said the drugs seized are now subject to analysis by Forensic Science Ireland. Three vehicles, and a number of weapons, have also been seized, they said.
Gardai have also charged three men in connection with the searches. A man aged in his 20s was arrested and detained pursuant to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984, at a Garda station in the north Dublin area.
The two other men were arrested on foot of outstanding bench warrants.
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