http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/garda%C3%AD-and-spanish-police-seek-motive-for-kavanagh-killing-1.1920923


Gardaí and Spanish police seek motive for Kavanagh killing
Dublin criminal shot in head as he lay dying after ambush in Marbella Irish bar.

Gardaí are liaising with the Spanish police in an effort to establish if Dubliner Gerard Kavanagh was shot dead because of a localised feud on the Costa del Sol or by an Irish gang that hired gunmen to kill him in a row over a drugs debt in the Republic.

Kavanagh (44), a married man from Crumlin, had been heavily involved in the drugs trade for over two decades. A former boxer, he was regarded as a volatile and dangerous criminal who had become a senior drug-dealing figure among the Irish underworld settled in southern Spain. He also collected debts for Dubliner Christy Kinahan, a convicted drug dealer at the centre of a major gangland investigation by the Garda and the Spanish police.

Kavanagh was jailed for four years in 1996 after being caught with a quantity of heroin. He was described at that time as being on a “hit list” of major dealers drawn up by a vigilante group with links to the Provisional IRA. Some on the list had been shot dead or wounded.

Police in Spain are investigating the fatal shooting of an Irish man on the outskirts of Marbella on the Costa Del Sol in Spain yesterday. Irish man shot dead in suspected gangland murder in Spanish bar

Despite being in his mid-20s, he was described by Garda witnesses during his trial as “the major figure in drugs supplies in the Crumlin, Drimnagh and Dolphin’s Barn areas of Dublin for some time” and “a prime mover” in the underworld. In more recent years, he had been embroiled in rows with a number of criminal elements.

He had been the victim of extortion demands by the Real IRA in Dublin several years ago when the organisation in the city was headed by Dubliner Alan Ryan. While Ryan was shot dead in north Dublin two years ago, Kavanagh was subjected to renewed extortion demands by the new IRA alliance that has since emerged. He remained in conflict with the paramilitaries up to the time of his death and had been warned by gardaí his life was in danger. He had also made enemies within the underworld in Ireland due to his debt-collecting activities. Garda sources believe he had also crossed Irish and British criminals in Spain when debt-collecting.

He was involved in a tense feud with a major criminal figure in his 40s from Dublin who had clashed with Kavanagh and the Kinahan gang over a seven-figure drugs debt.

Kavanagh was gunned down by two men, wearing balaclavas and dressed in black, in an ambush near Marbella on Saturday afternoon. The killers burst into a well-known Irish bar, Harmon’s in Elviria, at about 5pm and shot him nine times, hitting him in the head, arms and upper body. He fled as the shots were fired and was wounded a number of times as he tried to escape before being shot again and slumping to the ground. One of the gunmen then shot him in the head as he lay dying on the ground, before he and his accomplice fled in a waiting BMW later found burnt out.

Kavanagh, who lived in Spain with his wife and adult children, was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. A mobile phone found on his body was seized by the Spanish police and will be analysed to try and establish if he had gone to the bar to meet somebody he knew only to be ambushed.

Last month, the former European boxing champion Jamie Moore was shot in the legs after leaving a house in Marbella, where he was based as a trainer for Irish fighter Matthew Macklin. Gardaí and the Spanish police believe he was an innocent party shot in a case of mistaken identity, and that Kavanagh was the intended target.

http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/crime-desk/veteran-republican-these-acts-will-be-punished

Veteran republican: 'These acts will be punished.

Veteran republican Francie Mackey said at the weekend that the acts of desecration and intimidation of would not go unpunished at a commemoration for Real IRA chief Alan Ryan.

Just over 200 people turned out for the second anniversary memorial service yesterday in Balgriffin Cemetery on Saturday– less than half the number that turned up for last year’s service.

Tensions in North Dublin have been high all week in the run-up to the anniversary service.

Ryan’s local church was defaced earlier this week with two messages which threatened his younger brother, Vinny.

Blood-red graffiti reading ‘Alan Ryan rot in hell’ was also sprayed on a wall within the grounds.

The vandalism happened at the Holy Trinity Church in Donaghmede where Ryan’s funeral took place two years ago followed by a paramilitary-style procession to the cemetery.

It is suspected that the gang who had Ryan murdered carried out the attack on the church.

The same mob are suspected of attacking Ryan’s grave last year ahead of the first anniversary of his death.

Red spray paint was used to vandalise the grave with the insult ‘Rat Scum’ painted on the headstone.

Family keepsakes and small memorials were also defaced.

32 CSM chairman Mackey told mourners on Saturday that Ryan had “the heart of a lion”.

He said that “his sacrifice will become the bedrock on which our triumph will be born.”

He also vowed that republicans would confront the drug gangs behind Alan Ryan’s murder and also the people responsible for the recent graffiti campaign abusing the murdered dissident.

He said: “These acts of desecration and intimidation will not go unpunished. Anyone who thinks they will are deluded.”

He also said that Ryan was a proud republican who “stood up against some of the most vile individuals in this country”.
Shots

Among those attending the service were his brothers Dermot, Vinny and Anthony, as well as his former partner, Stacey Roche.

On Saturday officers from the Garda Dog Unit, the Mounted Unit, the Emergency Response Unit, the Special Detective Unit and the Public Order Unit were all drafted in to ensure there were no open paramilitary displays at the event.

In 2012, balaclava-clad ‘volunteers’ fired a volley of shots over Ryan’s coffin sparking outrage from the then Justice Minister Alan Shatter.

On saturday after 1pm a large group of supporters began to gather at Ryan’s home at Grange Abbey Drive, Donaghmede, where a pipe band played and uniformed supporters banged drums.
They were met by a heavy police presence including riot gardai who stood in close proximity to the house and along the route of the march.

Before his death, Ryan had been responsible for extorting hundreds of thousands of euro in so-called ‘protection money’ for the city’s drug gangs.

The dad-of-two, who was the head of the IRA’s Dublin brigade, was the most feared man in the criminal underworld and had personally murdered at least two drug barons.

However, a North Dublin gang are believed to have decided to execute Ryan rather than pay ‘tax’ to the group.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28868419

Dublin's gangland crime problem 'getting worse.

Dublin's gangland crime problem 'getting worse'
Shane Harrison
By Shane Harrison
BBC NI Dublin correspondent
Forensic examination of Declan Smith murder scene
A forensics officer examines the scene of Declan Smith's murder outside a crèche in north Dublin
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories

Dissident dies a week after shooting
It is not uncommon for people in the Republic of Ireland to turn on their radios and television sets and to hear of another so-called gangland shooting or murder.

One of the more recent victims, Declan Smith, died at the end of March, a week after being shot in the face while dropping off his child at a crèche in north Dublin.

The dissident republican, originally from Belfast, was wanted for questioning by the PSNI about two murders.

He was also a close associate of former Real IRA leader Alan Ryan, who was murdered in Dublin two years ago.

'Mr Bigs'
Ryan had underworld connections, according to Irish Daily Star crime correspondent Michael O'Toole.

"Although he was not involved in drugs, he was taxing drug dealers, keeping a large percentage for his own pocket, but also sending an awful lot up north to the bosses in Northern Ireland," he said.

"We do know that elements in dissident republicanism are very close to drug dealers - some have been caught with drugs and some have been charged."

Anna Quigley
Anna Quigley is a social worker in Dublin's north inner city
Dublin's north inner city has been ravaged by drugs for decades.

Anna Quigley, a former independent councillor and a social worker in the area where she lives, said that over the years she had noticed Dublin's gangs becoming more violent and numerous.

She said that, as has always been the case, there are the "small-fry criminals and the Mr Bigs".

"There are the people at a local level who get caught up in these gangs and these feuds, but the sense is these are not the people running the business," she said.

"The people who are really powerful are running it behind the scenes because they're in it for the money.

"We probably never hear of those because we don't know who they are and they're not going to appear in the media with nicknames or made-up names."

Newspapers often carry stories about alleged criminals with names like Fat Freddy and Dapper Don.

Not always based in Ireland, they and their ilk are said to control underworld empires worth hundreds of millions of euros.

John Gilligan
John Gilligan, pictured upon his release from prison in the Republic of Ireland
Mr O'Toole said their wealth was not wholly dependent on drugs.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

Gangs are more violent and more capable of violence, and that level of fear and violence is there in the community”

Anna Quigley
Social worker
"Criminals are not philosophically tied to cocaine or heroin - they are philosophically tied to making money," he said.

"They will get involved in drugs, in smuggling tobacco and in diesel laundering - for them, the bottom line really is the bottom line."

When he emerged from prison last year, John Gilligan, once a 'Mr Big' who was acquitted of the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin, must have quickly realised how much the crime scene had changed.

Where once there were relatively few gangs, the authorities say there are now at least 25; the age profile has lowered and they are no respecters of past reputation.

Gilligan found this out when several attempts were made to murder him, not that he seemed to be worried. He told reporters that one attempt was a "Halloween prank that came too late" and that he had "no problem with anybody".

Cavan search
Two Dublin men were found murdered on an island in County Cavan in May
Many were shocked when the bodies of two Dublin men, Anthony Keegan and Eoin O'Connor, were discovered in May on an island in County Cavan.

It is believed they were murdered because of a relatively small drugs debt.

Ms Quigley said today's gangs were also a lot more ruthless than in the past.

"They are more violent and more capable of violence, and that level of fear and violence is there in the community," she said.

"It's much more likely now that people will say, 'I'm not going to get involved, I'm not going to go to a meeting, I'm not going to go on a march, I'm just going to keep my head down and get on with my own life'."

Many like her in Dublin's north inner city believe the state could do more in the fight against crime by tackling issues like drugs and poverty, while police say the relatively new motorways make it easier for Dublin's criminals to use the border as a refuge.

Such concerns suggest that the criminal underworld is a long way from anywhere near being defeated.

http://www.herald.ie/news/hatchets-body-to-be-flown-home-from-spain-in-days-30583396.html

Hatchet's body to be flown home from Spain in days.

BY KEN FOY CRIME CRIME CORRESPONDENT – 13 SEPTEMBER 2014 02:30 PM

A major garda alert will be in place for the funeral of gangland enforcer Gerard 'Hatchet' Kavanagh which is expected to take place in Dublin as early as next week.

The body of the gangster has not been released to his family by Spanish authorities but a source told the Herald that there is "an expectation" that this will happen within the next few days.

Meanwhile it has emerged that gardai do not believe that Kavanagh was murdered by any foreign gang on Spain's Costa-Del-Crime.

During the week, there had been speculation that 'Hatchet' was taken out by either Russian or Liverpool gangs and even a bizarre theory about a Dutch mob.

Instead it is now believed that he was definitely targeted by an Irish mob as part of a bitter dispute.

When the gangster's body is returned home, it is expected that his funeral will take place at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Drimnagh, which is located just yards from his heartbroken mother's home.

Heavies

And sources say that gardai will be out in force for the funeral which will be attended by many heavies from Dublin's underworld, including his right-hand man Paul Rice from Tallaght who is said to be "furious" that his close associate has been murdered.

Kavanagh was shot nine times with a machine pistol by two masked men just before 5pm local time on Saturday as he sipped a beer at Harmon's Irish bar in Elviria.

Detectives have recovered a mobile phone believed to belong to the notorious gangster and are working through the numbers on it to see who called him before he met his violent death with sources here satisfied that Kavanagh was "set-up."

Despite gardai saying that Kavanagh and Rice were trusted members of the Christy Kinahan international crime syndicate, the drug godfather's son Daniel has denied this.

Javier Arias, a lawyer who represents Daniel in Spain rubbished reports that Kavanagh had connections with the Kinahan family, insisting the gangster had no "personal or working relationship" with Daniel.

"The only link between Daniel and Gerard Kavanagh is that they're Irish," he said.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and...urope-1.1920966

Former Cab figure to target criminal assets in Europe.

Properties and other assets owned by Irish gangland or white-collar criminals in other jurisdictions are out of the reach of the Criminals Assets Bureau (Cab) but the situation could be remedied, a former key figure in the bureau has said.
Cab’s former chief bureau legal officer, Frank Cassidy, added that he would use his new post at the European crime-fighting agency, Eurojust, to encourage other European Union states to follow the Irish model of taking assets from criminals without the need to secure criminal convictions against them.
Cassidy comes to his new post in The Hague as Ireland’s representative to Eurojust after spending six years of his legal career to 2012 guiding the Cab through some of its biggest, highest-profile and most complex cases. More recently he has been head of criminal appeals at the Director of Public Prosecution’s office.
He said he was hopeful more progress could be made across the EU in seizing criminals assets.
“I’ve always advocated the non-conviction-based confiscation remedy in Europe, because the Supreme Court in Ireland has considered the human rights issues involved and was satisfied it was fair and that there were sufficient safeguards in place such as people being entitled to free legal aid,” he said.
“That court has concluded there are no fundamental property rights in the proceeds of crime. Even if member states were not happy to legislate for the remedy itself they could at least recognise Irish orders.”
However, he noted that the European Commission was again considering the remedy of non-conviction-based forfeiture, particularly in circumstances where a criminal trial might not be possible.
This can occur for a variety of reasons, including cases where people had died, absconded or were not fit to plead.
“I’d like to contribute to the debate and my position in Eurojust should assist me in that discussion,” Mr Cassidy said.
He has already joined a working group within Eurojust to examine non-conviction assets forfeiture.
The Cab’s ability to take assets from criminals via civil actions is provided for under the Proceeds of Crime Act. It was the main pillar in the State’s offensive against organised crime after journalist Veronica Guerin’s murder in 1996.
Since its enactment a large number of Irish gangland figures have relocated abroad, especially to southern Spain, where Dublin drug dealer Gerard Kavanagh was shot dead at the weekend.
However, while the Cab can seize the Irish assets of criminals who have moved abroad, the assets in those jurisdictions will not be seized by authorities there unless the target is convicted of the crimes the assets stem from. It means criminals operating in Ireland can put wealth out of the Cab’s reach by investing it abroad.
Confiscation orders granted by the High Court are not recognised abroad because some EU member states see non-conviction-based forfeiture as an attack on property rights. Some states are also uncomfortable that those targeted must prove their assets are legitimate, a reversal of the burden of proof a prosecutor normally needs to prove the case against a suspect.
In Ireland the High Court regularly accepts intelligence- based evidence from Garda witnesses that a person being targeted by the Cab is wealthy due, for example, to drug dealing and orders the assets to be confiscated.
In Europe, the assets would be confiscated only if the target was convicted of drug dealing in the period when they built their assets.
The State has long advocated the adoption of the Irish model, with Mr Cassidy now set to try to advance that via Eurojust.
Eurojust, staffed by representatives from EU member states, aims to facilitate and enhance international co-operation in the investigation of cross-border crime. It has been strengthened to be more proactive as international gangs have taken advantage of the opening up of the EU. If national police forces are working together in a joint investigation team co-ordinated by Eurojust, the admissibility in one member state of evidence found in another is easier.
As well as drug trafficking, Eurojust has assisted in cooperation between national policing forces in the investigation of gun smuggling, human trafficking and prostitution, cyber crime, international terrorism and money laundering.

http://www.herald.ie/news/eru-watch-on-hatchet-kavanaghs-funeral-30604343.html

ERU watch on 'Hatchet' Kavanagh's funeral.

BY LUKE BYRNE – 22 SEPTEMBER 2014 02:30 PM

ARMED gardai will be on alert this morning as gangster Gerard 'Hatchet' Kavanagh is buried in west Dublin.

The force's Emergency Response Unit are on stand-by for the service, which is expected to be attended by a number of major gangland figures.

Kavanagh (44) was gunned down in a ruthless assassination while he was at an Irish bar in upmarket Elviria, near Marbella, Spain.

He was a senior member and enforcer for the Christy Kinahan international crime syndicate.

Friends and family of the gangster will gather at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Mourne Road at 11.30am for the funeral Mass today, and Kavanagh will be buried afterwards in Palmerstown cemetery.

It is understood they will socialise later at a boxing club in the Rialto area.

Kavanagh's body was flown back from Spain to the family home in Mourne Road on Friday. The casket carrying his remains was so large that the front window of the house had to be taken out.

Kavanagh (above) was shot nine times by two masked men as he sipped a beer at Harmon's Irish bar.

http://www.rsflimerick.com/



Dublin Man Leaves Republican Sinn Féin In Disgrace

The Ard Chomhairle of Republican Sinn Féin, place the following facts on record. Former Republican Sinn Féin member, Frank Nolan of Ballyfermot in Dublin has left Republican Sinn Féin in ignominious circumstances. Attempts were made by Frank Nolan to undermine and slander members of the leadership of Republican Sinn Féin, in order to advance his personal agenda, which has since transpired to be completely anti-republican in its nature. Frank Nolan also made use of a Free State tabloid newspaper in his endeavour. These Attempt’s made by Frank Nolan were unsuccessful, and with the failure of his scheme, Frank Nolan’s position as a member of Republican Sinn Féin became untenable and has since left the organisation. On leaving Republican Sinn Féin Frank Nolan’s repugnant behaviour has continued. Frank Nolan has refused to hand over the proceeds of a Republican Sinn Féin benefit night held in the 79 Pub, Ballyfermot to the organisation, this benefit night was held to raise much needed funds for the continuance of the struggle against the British occupation of Ireland, and the Embezzlement of these funds by any individual must be viewed as completely objectionable and anti-republican behaviour. Furthermore, Frank Nolan fraudulently obtained a sum of money which is the property of Saoirse Nua, which he refuses to return to Saoirse Nua. Frank Nolan called to a number of Saoirse Nua outlets, after he departed from the organisation and fraudulently collected the proceeds of Saoirse Nua paper sales. The editorial committee of Saoirse Nua contacted Frank Nolan and demanded the return of the money, and received no response. This money is intended for use on the publication of Saoirse Nua which brings un-censored news on the subject of the ongoing British occupation of Ireland, along with many more relevant topics to the people of Ireland. The theft of this money is a reprehensible act and must be condemned in the strongest manner possible.

The Real IRA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6KTnvsiXw8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zx-bafKRtA

http://www.herald.ie/news/mobster-arrested-over-gang-murder-30740297.html

By Ken Foy crime correspondent – 13 November 2014 02:30 PM
Gardai have arrested a close associate of a criminal who was brutally shot dead and whose body was dumped in Tallaght.

Armed officers swooped on the dangerous 23-year-old gangster in an early morning raid in Dublin's north inner city and brought him to Tallaght Garda Station where he was still being questioned last night about the slaying of Michael 'Mad Mickey' Devoy (41).

Devoy's body was riddled with bullets before it was discovered on the side of the road in Bohernabreena late on the night of January 18.

A handgun was later recovered close to the body but yesterday's development was the first arrest in the case.

"The man in custody is a heavy hitter in terms of organised crime and he was very pally with Devoy," a senior source told the Herald.

"He is involved in extortion, debt collection and is associated with Provos in the north inner city.

"Gardai do not believe that he was the gunman, but he may have played a role in setting Devoy up or had knowledge of it."

'Mad Mickey' (inset) was murdered shortly after his release from Portlaosie Prison.

He had returned to his home in Ballymun and then moved to a safehouse in Drumcondra.

threatening

He left the hideaway after getting a call from a well-known gangster and his body was later found lying in a ditch.

In November, 2006, Devoy was jailed for four years after he admitted threatening to gouge out a man's eyeballs and kill him.

Devoy from Balbutcher Drive, Ballymun, had numerous previous convictions and was only weeks out of prison for a similar offence when he told gardai that he would find the man in prison, slash his face with razor blades, gouge out his eyes and smash his head.

kfoy@herald.ie

http://www.herald.ie/news/career-criminal-blasted-in-spine-by-drugs-gang-30741820.html

By Ken Foy and Wayne O' Connor – 13 November 2014 02:30 PM
A 39-year-old man was lucky to escape with his life when he was shot with a shotgun.

Career criminal Jonathan Burke was being treated for severe injuries at St Vincent's Hospital today after the gun attack which happened at midnight.

Jonathan Burke - who was only recently released from jail - suffered spinal injuries as well as six other wounds to his upper body after the shooting at a house in the Heatherwood estate in Bray, Co Wicklow.

He was released from prison a fortnight ago and gardai are working on the theory that a dangerous local drugs gang - who are led by a convicted killer - are behind the hit.

The same gang are the chief suspects for another non-fatal gun attack in Bray last August.

A 41-year-old woman who was in the house was uninjured in the gun attack.

A neighbour said that there was a lot of activity outside the house during a 20 minute period before the shooting.

"There was a lot walking around outside and activity outside the house at about 12 last night. I was wondering what was going on and then it went all quiet before the three gunshots went off.

"They kept walking past my house, I think that they were trying to drum up the courage to do it," she said.

Burke who is originally from the Ashlawn Court estate in Bray is known to gardai and has multiple convictions for drugs, robberies and burglaries.

He has served a number of jail sentences and has even managed to run into trouble in Wheatfield Prison where he was caught with a mobile phone and also made an escape attempt.

He was one of the first people to be convicted of having a phone in jail and received a one month sentence for this offence in August 2007.

One of the most serious convictions of the former heroin addict dates to April 2008, when he was jailed for five years for his part in multiple armed robberies at pharmacies in Greystones and Enniskerry in Co Wicklow.

kfoy@herald.ie

http://www.continuitysinnfein.com/

R.I.P. Óglach Liam Mulhern Continuity Irish Republican Army

Liam Mulhern was first imprisoned at 15 years old, accused of being part of a 3 man active service unit attempting to plant a bomb in Belfast city centre as a member of the Continuity Irish Republican Army. They were later released after a period on remand. Liam, a native of Belfast was a fluent Irish speaker and an articulate republican, he was found on Tuesday evening in his prison cell in Maghaberry, face down on the floor with no heartbeat, he could have been there for up to 1 hour without help, the prison was aware that Liam had a number of medical issues. Last year he had a small heart attack and often complained with chest pain and trouble breathing. Several months ago he passed out and had a seizure and when taken to Craigavon hospital, he was told he may have a clot on his brain or a stint and would need to receive further scans to determine the problem, he never received those tests and scans. Liam also suffered from Spina Bifida, which left him in severe pain. 3 years ago he was told by a doctor he needed an orthopaedic mattress for this condition and the prison failed to provide this. He was also waiting 18months for an injection into his spine for this pain and never received it. The negligence of the prison to look after and treat all prisoners is clear and more has to be done to help prisoners with medical issues. Although Liam Mulhern was pronounced dead today, he died on the 27/10/14 in his prison cell, his heart was restarted on the way to hospital but by that time the lack of oxygen to the brain had already killed him and it was just procedure to monitor anyone who’s heart had been restarted for 48 hours on life support before officially being able to declare the death.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dhilís,
P.R.O. Republican Sinn Féin Belfast, 30/10/2014.






Óglach Liam Mulhern Continuity Irish Republican Army Laid To Rest

http://www.herald.ie/news/man-cleared-in-alan-ryan-case-gets-death-threats-30803364.html

By Ken Foy and Declan Brennan – 06 December 2014 03:00 AM

A 41-year-old man who walked free from court yesterday on charges of withholding information about the murder of Real IRA terror chief Alan Ryan is under constant death threat from Ryan's associates, the Herald can reveal.

Gardai have received information about a number of credible threats to Thomas Hunt since he was first brought before the courts on the charge in October, 2012.

Hunt, whose address is given as Donnycarney, north Dublin, first received threats when he appeared at Dublin District Court on October 21, 2012, when a close pal of Alan Ryan said he "should be f***ing shot".

Sources said that gardai have mounted a number of operations to keep Mr Hunt alive, but he is still the subject of major threats.

Judge Catherine Murphy ruled yesterday that telephone records held on a mainframe computer could not be relied on as evidence because there was no evidence that the computer was operating correctly at the relevant time.

The trial heard that it was the State's case that Mr Hunt was the owner of a mobile telephone that was used to buy the car later used in the murder.

Hunt had pleaded not guilty to withholding information on dates between September 3 and October 23, 2012, which might have been of material assistance in securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of a person for the murder of Ryan.

At the start of the trial the defence told the jury that he was making a number of admissions on behalf of his client.

He said it was accepted that the gunman ran to a Volvo S40 which was then driven by another man to Balgriffin Cottages where the Volvo was abandoned and set on fire. The gunman and driver then got into a Punto and escaped.

The defence said his client accepts that the Volvo was parked near Grange Lodge Avenue from September 1, 2012.

In its opening speech, the prosecution told the jury that the car used and later found burned out was traced to a last registered owner.

The owner had placed the car for sale on the Donedeal website and on August 25 a man telephoned him from a mobile number.

The prosecution said it was alleged that this number was Mr Hunt's and that he was the person who went on to buy the car for €3,000.

denied

After the shooting gardai arrested Mr Hunt and asked him to say who he had passed the car on to. During these garda interviews Mr Hunt denied that he had purchased the car.

Judge Murphy noted that an engineer from Meteor gave evidence for the prosecution that he had working knowledge of the Meteor computer system but not of the mainframe computer from where the records were held and this led to legal argument and ultimately the State withdrawing its charge.

kfoy@herald.ie

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/politic...t-Thatcher.html

FBI secretary in New York was a mole in IRA plot to assassinate Thatcher.

A secretary at the New York Bureau office of the FBI was suspected of being a mole, passing classified information on to IRA members plotting to assassinate Margaret Thatcher, newly released documents to the Guardian newspaper reveal.

FBI agents also noted that two of the alleged killers of Captain Robert Nairac, a British undercover agent who “ran” several loyalist killers, were living in the US.

Nairac was kidnapped outside a pub in South Armagh and murdered by the IRA. His body has never been found.

There was one serious attempt to assassinate Thatcher it seems. In 1992, an FBI informer in the Irish Republican community in the Boston area informed federal agents that two men in New York involved with the Provisional IRA (PIRA) were planning to assassinate the by then former Prime Minister during one of her speaking engagements in the US in September of the same year.

The names of both of the men have been redacted, along with other identifying details, but the documents do note they were believed to be “capable of carrying out such an attack based on their backgrounds and professional expertise.” At least one of the men was suspected to have been behind a previous bomb attack in the UK, and one was married to a US citizen and had been a resident alien since 1965.

The source had heard about the plot at an unnamed bar in New York thought to be a “hotbed” of IRA activity and owned by an IRA member.

At one point in the documents, the suspects are referred to as “Provisional Sinn Fein leaders.”

The same internal FBI communication points to the potential mole at the FBI’s New York bureau, noting, “In addition to the information concerning the Thatcher threat, the source advised that there was a leak in the New York FBI office coming from a secretary that gave PIRA access to name checks,” and further cautions that “independent allegations of a leak in the Neu [sic] York office have previously surfaced.”

There were reportedly multiple plans to murder the British Prime Minister during her visits to the US throughout the 1980s and 90s. Details of these and other FBI investigations into the assassination plots are contained in hundreds of pages of documents released to The Guardian newspaper on Monday.

They were made public following a freedom of information request issued after Thatcher’s death at 87 years of age on April 8, 2013.

It seems that initially the FBI caught wind of a plot almost by accident – an FBI source was in the cocktail lounge at the Boar’s Head, a restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia, in February 1981 when he overheard two men with “English or Irish accents” talking about a possible “hit” during Margaret Thatcher’s upcoming visits to New York and Washington DC.

One man said that the plan would “even the score for H,” likely in reference to Cell Block H at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland where IRA prisoners were held. His friend tried to “quiet him down.”

The FBI followed up the dubious information, but ended up seeking a polygraph for the alleged informant which he refused. Later surveillance revealed “three known IRA terrorists” living in the Falls Church area. Their names are redacted from the newly released files. Thatcher’s 1981 visit came and went without any attempts on her life and the case was declared closed in March.

The documents reveal the details of other such cases, including a 1987 confession by an Englishman, who had been arrested for stealing a motorcycle, that he had been traveling to Camp David, where Thatcher was visiting Ronald Reagan, to kill the Prime Minister. With a previous criminal record for assault, he was no longer allowed to return to England and had become enraged over that fact. The file also mentions that the man had dreamt that Thatcher was his mother.

As for the 1992 plot, The Guardian notes that Thatcher’s visit passed without incident and that the Iron Lady was “able to complete her 12-day itinerary, which as well as a visit to Bush in the White House and lunches with high-powered American officials included six separate hair appointments.”
221SHARES

http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/crime-desk/paul-rice-refuses-to-fly-in-fear-of-assassination

Gangland figure Paul Rice refuses to fly in fear of assassination.

GANGLAND figure Paul Rice ignored a direct order to travel to Spain for a summit with the Kinahan gang because of fears he would be assassinated, a source has revealed.

Mobster Rice (44), refused to fly to Spain this month for a ‘sit-down’ with a senior member of the Costa-based drugs gang to discuss the murder of his pal Gerard ‘Hatchet’ Kavanagh. The order came as Rice was snubbed by the mob’s most-senior members at the Matthew Macklin fight in the 3Arena two weeks ago.

The Kinahan brothers failed to speak to the armed robber, even though they were sitting only a few metres apart at the boxing match in Dublin’s city centre.
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Gangland hardman Rice (44), from Tallaght in south Dublin, previously acted as an enforcer for the mob and was seen as being close to Godfather Christy Kinahan senior.

However, a source has claimed Rice fears he is a marked man because of his close friendship with Hatchet Kavanagh, who was gunned down in Spain in September.

Gardai believe Kavanagh may have been responsible for a botched hit on Daniel Kinahan, during which boxer Jamie Moore was shot.

Our source said: “They [the Kinahan gang] didn’t meet Rice at the boxing and never hooked up with him at all while they were over. He was summoned to Spain for a sit-down but he won’t go because he fears he’ll end up with Hatchet.”

Rice and Hatchet were partners-in-crime for more than two decades and were close personal friends.

After Kavanagh moved to Spain in the early noughties, he set up his own drugs importation business with Rice acting as his ‘agent’ in Dublin. However, in recent years the pair had ended up working directly as debt collectors for the Kinahans. Rice was one of the coffin bearers at Kavanagh’s funeral when he was laid to rest in Drimnagh on
September 23.

Gardai are investigating if a hitman from the south inner city – who was also responsible for the murder of Christopher ‘Git’ Zambra – was hired to kill Kavanagh. It is believed Hatchet had a falling out with a number of Irish criminals on the Costa del Sol who all wanted him dead.

Underworld sources have revealed that Kavanagh was also accused of pocketing money belonging to the Kinahan gang.

Two years ago he was sent home to Ireland to collect €3m worth of drug debts owed to the Kinahans, who were desperate for money.

There is no proof that he did anything wrong, but it is known that he did not see eye-to-eye with Daniel Kinahan, second-in-command of the mob, who preferred to surround himself with younger criminals.

http://www.herald.ie/news/guinea-pig-in-brutal-new-rira-drugs-feud-30879001.html

'Guinea Pig' in brutal new RIRA drugs feud.

Ken Foy, Crime Correspondent – 03 January 2015 08:30 AM
Detectives fear a potential bloodbath after a feud ignited between a gang linked to the 'Guinea Pig' and a dissident Republican group.

The Herald has learned that Dublin gangster Mark Desmond, nicknamed the 'Guinea Pig' has been acting as a "heavy" for a mob who control drug dealing in the north west of the country and source their drugs from a Dublin gang.

Subsequently, this has brought Desmond – who sources say has been working for convicted local drugs dealer Barry Young – into direct confrontation with a crew who are led by Aaron Nealis.

Nealis suffered serious leg injuries when he was shot as he walked with Alan Ryan, the RIRA chief – murdered in September 2012. Nealis’ group claims to be anti-drug dealing vigilantes.

The tense feud is being played out in Sligo town and is so serious that the heavily-armed special detective unit is constantly monitoring the situation.

This has been brewing for many months now but it looks like it might come to a head very shortly.

Barry Young and his crowd have been constantly in bother with Aaron Nealis and his people but things took a different dimension when Mark Desmond started getting involved.

"For one thing, local dealers that might have owed Young money but were stalling on paying him suddenly were able to cough up when Desmond arrived at his side. That is for sure - everyone is terrified of him."

Barry Young (31), originally from Geldof Drive, Cranmore, Sligo, received a six-year sentence after pleading guilty in relation to a €21,000 cannabis resin seizure at a graveyard in March 2006.

A team of seven gardai busted Young and another man in the remote Kilmacowen graveyard, where they were caught with drugs with an estimated street value of €20,853.

Dealing

Young admitted his involvement under questioning and accepted full responsibility for the drugs.

After being released from jail, Young has continued to be involved in serious drug dealing and this has brought him into direct confrontation with the IRA, according to sources.

However Young and his mob are fighting back and with Mark Desmond involved in debt collection and "protection" for them, the dissident Republicans are now under serious pressure from the dealers.

"Individuals have been seen in the vicinity of the homes of these so-called Republicans, staking these properties out.

"Nothing has happened yet and gardai are on top of it as much as they can be but this is a serious situation, make no mistake about that," a source said.

Mark Desmond is notorious in Dublin's underworld and is suspected of murdering two young men and dumping their bodies in the Grand Canal in 2000.

Dubbed the 'Guinea Pig'. Desmond was the only man to have been charged in the notorious 2000 'canal murders' investigation.

Dumped

Both young men in the canal murders were shot in drug-related killings and their bodies dumped in the Grand Canal at Karneystown, Co Kildare, between December 19, 1999, and January 10, 2000.

The murder charges were dropped by the Director for Public Prosecutions and the Court of Criminal Appeal later overturned Desmond's conviction and eight-year sentence on a charge of unlawful possession of firearms with intent to endanger life.

kfoy@herald.ie

http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/crime/new-anti-drugs-movement-vows-4918294

New anti drugs movement vows to kick dangerous crime gang out of Sligo.



A new anti drugs movement has waged war on a dangerous crime gang and vowed to kick them out of the north-west.

The group, which claims to have 1,000 members, says Dublin criminal Mark ‘The Guinea Pig’ Desmond moved to Sligo several months ago, where he is helping a local dealer collect debts.

Anti Drugs Movement (ADM) president Ciaran Kelly says homes have been targeted by the mob and official death threats have been given to four members of his group.

Now 46-year-old Republican Mr Kelly claims that people are fed up with the mob and has vowed to strike back.

“We are going to stop this Dublin gangster. He was run out of Dublin by the IRA and he set himself up in Sligo.

“He has been spotted here for the last six months and he has linked up with a local drug dealer.

“We are going to run him out of Sligo back into whatever hole he crawled out of. The people in the town are sick of it.”

The ‘Guinea Pig’ remains the chief suspect for the double murder of Darren Carey, 20, and Patrick Murray, 19, in December 2000.

The two men were shot in the head and dumped in the Grand Canal at Karneystown, Co Kildare, between December 19, 1999, and January 10, 2000. The killings were drug-related.

Desmond, who is originally from Lally Road, Ballyfermot, was charged with the murders but never convicted.

More recently associates of Desmond were linked to the murder of James Kenny McDonagh -- whose body was found dumped in the Dublin mountains two years ago.

A senior source explained that Desmond moved to Sligo town in 2014 where he has been regularly spotted in the company of convicted drug dealer Barry Young, 29. Young previously served a six-year sentence after he was caught collecting cannabis that was stashed in a graveyard.
Sligo drug dealer Barry Young

The town’s drug industry was previously run by the notorious Irwin brothers but senior sources say Young has filled a vacuum left by their absence.

Mr Kelly explained that his group have been targeted on three occasions by associates of Young and Desmond.

Some members of the ADM, which claims to be unarmed and non-political, are former pals of murdered Real IRA chief Alan Ryan.

Aaron Nealis, who was shot in the leg by the same gunman who killed Ryan, is one local who remains under constant threat from the drugs gang.

In March a masked and armed gang tried to break into his Sligo.

Former sea captain Mr Kelly said gardai have delivered notice of official ‘death threats’ to himself, Nealis and two others.

However he insisted that they are not intimidated by the gang.

“We don’t fear these gangs. They are just a bunch of thugs. They can intimidate a drug user on the streets but we have no fear of them.”

Mr Kelly, whose son Wayne died in suspicious circumstances nine years ago, said: “We will not stop until they are out of Sligo.”

“We are determined that this town will not become a safe haven for people that deal with these drugs gangs

“Anyone that is involved in any way whatsoever with these criminal gangs, we will target them.

“We are not an armed group, that would be illegal. We are not an IRA group.”

Mr Kelly, who is orginally from Co Waterford, added: “This is not about all the youth that have been lost in this war already. This is about the kids that are going to be lost if we don’t do something.

“We cannot, no longer stand by and watch these criminal gangs, and watch them operate with what seems like immunity.

“We cannot accept it, it is totally and utterly unacceptable.”

He continued: “We see that we have no choice ourselves but to stand and fight back.”

A senior source explained that gardai in Sligo are bracing themselves for an all-out war in the small town.

“This is a powder keg waiting to explode. You have two sides who are unwilling to back down and this could end very badly.”

http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/brother-of-alan-ryan-now-a-barber

Brother of Alan Ryan now a barber.

He is the brother of slain RIRA boss Alan Ryan who was previously cleared of weapons charges, but now Vinnie Ryan has reinvented himself as a barber.
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Hardline republican Vinnie (25), even has a purpose-built hair studio in his home in North Dublin.

A source told the Sunday World that Vinnie has always had an interest in male grooming and is a talented barber.

“He was living in Athy for a while, but he is back in Dublin now and is cutting hair, he is very talented. He does it by private appointment only.”

Vinnie was extremely close to his brother Alan and was always by his side before he was gunned down in September 2012. Following Ryan’s murder, Vinnie was arrested by gardai who were investigating activities of dissident republicans.

He was charged with weapons offences and membership of an illegal organisation and was placed in the dissident’s wing in Portloaise Prison while he was on remand.

However, in October 2012, Vinnie and close pal Darragh Evans (23), were cleared by the Special Criminal Court of charges of possession of an assault rifle and a handgun at Clonshaugh Walk, Coolock, on September 15, 2011 – the same day drugs trafficker Michael ‘Micka’ Kelly was shot dead.

Kelly, nicknamed ‘The Panda’, had been in a deadly feud with Alan Ryan after he refused to cough up a five-figure cash sum to Ryan’s Real IRA extortionist gang.

The non-jury court ruled there was insufficient evidence from which a jury could find Ryan and Evans were guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The charge of membership of an illegal organisation was also struck out.

http://www.herald.ie/news/drug-probe-gardas-life-may-now-be-at-risk-30920651.html


Drug probe garda's life may now be at risk.

By Ken Foy Crime Correspondent – 20 January 2015 03:00 AM
A female garda who was arrested after a massive four-month investigation into her alleged involvement with a drugs trafficking gang could be under threat from her criminal associates, it has emerged.

The suspended north-Dublin based officer, who was released from garda custody in Ballymote Garda Station, Sligo, on Saturday night, is now considered "disposable" to the dangerous mob, according to senior sources.

"What use is she to them now? Her career in the gardai is completely ruined, she won't be looking up anything for them again on the garda Pulse system," the source told the Herald.

"She will have to go for a de-brief to tell them what she said and what was said to her in custody. She is useless to them now but her problem may be that she knows everything about how they operate.

"If they turn on her, her life would be in absolute danger."

The mob that the garda was helping have links to major gangland figure Mark Desmond and his drug-dealing sidekick Barry Young.

The drugs mob have been involved in a bitter feud with a dissident republican crew who have links with Aaron Nealis, the Sligo criminal who was shot in the leg and was lucky to escape with his life when his close pal, RIRA terror chief Alan Ryan, was shot dead in September 2012.

Sources revealed that a major part of the investigation into the garda is that she was providing information about the movements and addresses of the dissidents to the gang.

"What she was doing was not just helping her pals out about what gardai knew about them, she was also looking up information about what gardai knew about their rivals," a source pointed out.

COCAINE

The garda, who comes from a respectable west-of-Ireland family but has been a heavy cocaine user, may also face cocaine dealing charges.

It emerged that a sizeable quantity of the deadly drug was discovered in the car that she was travelling in with a gang member late on Friday night when the vehicle was pulled over by heavily-armed gardai.

The woman in her early 30s had been on the radar of detectives in Sligo for months, who drafted in their colleagues from the Organised Crime Unit in recent weeks.

kfoy@herald.ie

A group called anti drugs movement is doing the rounds saying they will take on five criminal gangs in Ireland.

Catching the attention of the Irish media of late aka AMD have said the criminals are in hiding from ADM members and are on the run, all very interesting stuff coming from this new group.

This seems like a new push by excommunicated Republicans going by news reports of old same names etc etc.

The criminal community has shown in the passed their strike back ability to perform or achieve certain actions my money in any war is on the criminals to my amazement AMD have stated they passed information to the authorities on the criminals in Ireland's very long history Even today informers cast a long shadow i think this is a story in itself Republicans acting as informers to the Irish authorities the history of Republicans and the Irish authorities is HATED rivals for superiority in the same field of activity so it is with shock Republicans are now name tagged with fifth column activity.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/new...s-30934955.html

A senior garda is under investigation over allegations of sexual misconduct following a complaint by a woman who made a previous complaint against another member of the force, the Sunday Independent has learned.

The woman, from the south west, made a complaint late last year following what sources say was the acrimonious break-up of a liaison with the other, more junior, member of the force.

The woman had claimed that she had been sexually assaulted.

It was subsequently determined that the allegation was unfounded.

The garda involved strenuously denied the allegation and claimed it was made because he had ended the relationship with the woman.

However, the woman subsequently claimed that she was the subject of further impropriety from a senior officer.

The matter has now been passed to the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) for investigation.

It is understood the woman's allegations against the senior officer include text messages of an explicit sexual nature.

The woman has made a complaint to GSOC, which is investigating the matter. No comment was available from GSOC yesterday.

The episode comes after an unrelated controversy in which a now-retired officer came under scrutiny after it was found he was in a relationship with a young woman from a notorious criminal family.

The officer came under investigation last year after one of his family reported the discovery of a false passport and other suspicious items among his belongings.

The retired officer is said to be still in the relationship with the woman, who is more than 20 years his junior and who he is understood to have met while investigating serious crime.

Members of the woman's family were understood to have been the subject of Garda investigations while the retired officer was working on cases relating to serious crime.

The family was at the centre of cases involving feuding over the past decade, and several members were arrested and charged in relation to serious offences. One close relative was also killed.

The allegations shocked senior members of the force, serving and retired, who had worked with the officer.

The latest revelations come only a week after it emerged that a female garda in Dublin has been suspended and is under investigation over alleged links to a major drugs gang based in Sligo.

It is suspected she was having an affair with a member of the gang.

Investigations carried out by the National Bureau of Crime Investigation (NBCI) into this matter began last year after it was claimed that the logon passwords of three young male gardai had been falsely used to download sensitive information from the Garda computerised crime database.

The information being accessed is understood to relate to gang activity and associations between Dublin and Sligo criminals involved in the drugs trade.

http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/news/family-living-in-fear-after-online-drug-smear

Family living in fear after online drug smear.

A grandmother has told how her life has been made hell after she was wrongly labelled as a drug dealer by the shadowy ‘Anti Drug Movement’.

The republican group, known as ADM, is being led by Waterford man Ciaran Kelly who has been claiming to be a community activist willing to take on drugs dealers.

Kelly originally, from Helvick near Dungarvan, fled to the US over a decade ago when facing charges for assaulting a man.

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He recently returned from the US after the charges were dropped and started ADM, recruiting a number of republicans into the group.

He has been naming and picturing alleged dealers online and warning people to get out of the drugs trade.

Among those targeted are serious dealers including well-known Dublin thug Mark ‘the Guinea Pig’ Desmond, who is working with convicted drug dealer Barry Young in Sligo.
Several other people have been “named and shamed” online by Kelly.

However, not all those in his sights are big-time drugs dealers or even dealers at all, a Sunday World investigation can reveal.

One woman whose details were posted online is innocent grandmother Cathy Swales, who Kelly falsely described as the “oldest drug dealer in Dungarvan”.

Since being named online, she has received horrific abuse from republicans. Supporters of Kelly wrote vile comments, including: “Skanky bitch needs putting down.”

Another republican based in the north wrote the word “bullet” under her picture. And disturbingly Kelly also branded the gran as a Garda informer, potentially placing her life in even further danger.

Kelly, who has previously gone on radio to say he would happily pass information about drugs dealers on to gardai, wrote a message to Mrs Swales and her daughter saying: “I know you both are lowlife rats for the Gardai.”

Mrs Swales said Kelly posted her details after she confronted him about putting her daughter’s life in danger. Kelly secretly recorded the young woman giving him information on drugs dealers – and then emailed the tape to the men she named.

“He came into the town parading, doing marches saying he wanted everybody to stand up to the bullies and thugs that were the drug dealers of the time. He told everyone to talk to him and name them.”
Kelly was also offering a €10,000 reward to anyone who had information on the tragic death of his 15-year-old son, Wayne, who was found dead in the water in Dungarvan in December 2005.

The death was officially ruled as death by misadventure at the time but gardai reopened the investigation six months ago and Ciaran Kelly insists his son was murdered because he would not sell pills for local drugs gangs.

Mrs Swales’s daughter was living in England when Wayne died but she passed on information she claimed to have heard about the death to Kelly in October last year.

Kelly secretly recorded the conversation in which the woman claimed to have information that Wayne had been assaulted and thrown into the water. She also named other alleged drugs dealers in the town.

On the recording, Cathy Swales’s daughter can be heard saying she’d be dead if it ever got out that she had been talking to Kelly.

However, Mrs Swales said: “He was recording every bit of it and he emailed it to the dealers of Dungarvan.
When we confronted Kelly he admitted he released the recording. He tried to defend himself by claiming Mrs Swales’ daughter later took back what she said on the tape about his son’s death.

“We never pass on any information we get from anyone. That situation was a whole different ball game,” he said when confronted by the Sunday World.

Bizarrely, Ciaran Kelly yesterday claimed on his Facebook page that he had refused a request for an interview by this paper.

Yesterday he posted on his page: “The Sunday World is going to write more sh*t tomorrow. They asked five of us to give them a story but we refused.”

He had in fact happily talked to us for 40 minutes just two hours earlier in a taped conversation.

When the recordings of Mrs Swales’s daughter got out, she had to leave the town in fear of her life.

Mrs Swales said: “People said she was going to be killed. Myself and my husband drove her around until 5am.
“We were in other counties driving around just trying to keep her safe. We got her into a safe home she could stay in for a while. She was okay there for a time but eventually she had to return home because she wasn’t able to stay in the place where she was forever.

“She came home and boarded the front of the house as much as she could. We put in cameras but she was still targeted. A rock with the word ‘rat’ written on it was thrown through a window of a bedroom where her baby daughter sleeps.”

Gardai were contacted about the matter and Mrs Swales contacted Kelly over exposing his daughter to the threats.

“I said to him, ‘I’m not afraid of you’. He seems to target women on their own. I told him I’m not a single person and I have a partner.”

It was after this that Kelly put Mrs Swales’s picture online and falsely labelled her a drugs dealer.

“After this I told him I wasn’t afraid of him and wouldn’t back down. That was it then. I heard no more from Ciaran Kelly.”

Mrs Swales contacted gardai about the matter but she says they told her they could do nothing about it even though associates of Kelly were calling for her to be shot.

“The guards told me he had freedom of speech. But he’s walked away from the damage he’s done. I have to keep my daughter and two grandchildren safe. He doesn’t care.

“My daughter is being harassed everywhere she goes. She can’t even go to the park with her kids. If she drives somewhere people will shout and scream at her as she goes past.
“Her oldest boy is seven. He’s only home from hospital last night. He was vomiting. The doctors say they think it’s worry that has him sick.”

Mrs Swales said since Kelly returned he has caused havoc in Dungarvan. “He came into the town and turned it upside down.

“He marched in clear view of my window trying to intimidate me with these two men dressed in IRA-type army clothes.

“They had armed guards coming down to Dungarvan to keep the town quiet. His house was raided.

“He has half of Dungarvan up online, even people who have nothing to do with what happened to his son. This man needs to be stopped.”
Kelly said his only aim is to get justice for his son’s death and to stop drug dealers.

“There was a lot of pressure put on drug dealers in Dungarvan and a lot of stuff is after being cleaned up in the town because of us,” he said.

alan.sherry@sundayworld.com

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/new...s-30955787.html

Fears as more guns smuggled here by drugs gangs.

Detectives from the Garda National Drugs Unit have seized 20 firearms, including two machine guns and several automatic handguns, over the past 12 months.

This is the biggest haul of guns uncovered with drugs consignments for several years.

The increasing traffic in guns was highlighted as it emerged that gardaí seized drugs worth €62m in 2014.

This figure does not include the massive shipment of cocaine intercepted on the yacht Makayabella in September, as its value has not been officially recorded yet.

Some of the guns are being included with drugs shipments as "sweeteners" to seal a deal.

But others are being sought for protection in 'turf wars' or feuds over unpaid debts.

Officers say the drugs scene is becoming increasingly global, with big players now based overseas.

The drugs bosses have settled in Spain, the Netherlands, the UK and Portugal.

Irish gangster Christy Kinahan, who is well established in Spain, has become one of the top drug suppliers in Europe, but maintains close links with several gangs here.

Other Irish ex-pats who have built up lucrative connections overseas include associates of George 'The Penguin' Mitchell, accomplices of the victorious gang in the Drimnagh-Crumlin feud, and remnants of the John Gilligan gang.

Two leading gangland figures, who are both originally from the northside of Dublin and were believed to be responsible for the murder of Real IRA Dublin boss Alan Ryan, are also high on the priority garda watch list along with a former Donaghmede-based gang, who deal in cocaine, herbal cannabis and heroin, and operate independently from Kinahan-controlled suppliers. A big supplier on the Cork scene is also based in Spain and organising shipments for his associates.

The National Drugs Unit has also been active in seizing cash belonging to the gangs and uncovering the identities of facilitators, who are either storing or smuggling the money.

Officers say they confiscated up to €750,000 during 2014.

During the year, there were indications that ecstasy seemed to be making a comeback among users, while herbal cannabis continued to take over from cannabis resin.

Gardaí say the gangs controlling cannabis growhouses are now locating them in smaller units in urban areas rather than big, industrial-sized warehouses.

This is to reduce their losses after drugs busts.

Irish Independent

Criminals attack Real I.R.A. members in north Dublin, i can't get a link to the report in yesday paper right now.

http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/n...n-against-gangs

Group claiming to be dissident Continuity IRA promises "lethal" action against Limerick gangs using republican name.

Threat: The image on an email allegedly from the CIRA sent to the Sunday World
A message allegedly from the dissident terror group the CIRA has threatened "swift and lethal" action against criminal gangs "using the name of the Republican movement".

The email, which alleges to come from the Continuity Irish Republican Army Munster Brigade, states criminal gangs using the Republican name will "not be tolerated".

The message, which has been sent to a number of media outlets warns: "Recently it has come to our attention that individuals in the Limerick area have been using the name of the Republican movement to finance their criminal lifestyles. This will not be tolerated.

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It goes on to say: "We have in recent times approached these lowlife thugs and have given them their first and final warning to cease their activities otherwise military action will be taken at a time of our choosing.

"We do not issue idle threats we are fully prepared and equipped to carry out military action on criminals who would use the name of the movement to terrorise innocent people.

"Action will be swift and lethal," it ends.

The email was sent to the Sunday World with the above image attached. A man reading from a predetermined script is seen flanked by two balaclava-clad men holding what appear to be handguns.

Gardai are investigating the clip in a bid to determine if the threat is real.

family living in fear after drug smear was a good story

Yes i hear there was an other story on this in last Sunday World just gone can't get a link on it. yesday Irish Star has a story can't get a link to it on my other post today criminals attacking Real I.R.A. north Dublin etc etc.

http://www.sundayworld.com/news/crimedesk/dealers-at-centre-of-anti-drug-protests

Dealers at centre of anti-drug protests.

TWO drug dealers took part in Anti-Drug Movement’s (ADM) first public demonstration last year.

The group was set up by Waterford republican Ciaran Kelly last year.



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Ciaran Kelly

Kelly has been vowing to take on drug dealers in recent months and his group is currently in a dispute with a Sligo drugs gang headed by convicted dealer Barry Young.

Since setting up the group, he has been naming and shaming people that he has labelled drug dealers.

Last week,we revealed how a grandmother said she was falsely labelled a dealer by Kelly, as she stood up for her daughter who had given him information on dealers, only for him to pass on a secret recording of the conversation to the dealers she named.

After further investigations into the group we have obtained a video of Kelly’s first public meeting in Dungarvan where he vowed to clean the town of drug dealers.

However, in an ironic twist, two of the people involved in organising the march are drug dealers.

One of the men was Keith Keohan (41) from Convent Lodge, Mitchell St, Dungarvan. In November 2013 – just months before the Dungarvan march – Keohan was convicted over a cannabis haul of €44,500.

Yet he was bizarrely involved in the organisation of Kelly’s first march in Dungarvan in August last year – just nine months after his conviction.

A second drug dealer was also in attendance at the march.

During his speech, Kelly said: “Everyone in this town knows who the drug dealers are.”

When the speech was over, a local woman heckled Kelly saying he was not helping Dungarvan. Naming Keohan and another man she added: “And the same two fellas in your group are f***ing running the town with drugs.”

Kelly eventually admitted Keohan was a drug dealer in an online post in late September last year. He declined to comment when contacted yesterday.

http://www.herald.ie/news/murdered-ryans-best-mate-is-beaten-up-by-drug-dealer-31054554.html

Murdered Ryan's best mate is beaten up by drug dealer.

BY KEN FOY CRIME CORRESPONDENT – 10 MARCH 2015 03:00 AM

The best pal of slain Real IRA chief Alan Ryan was given a severe beating by a drugs trafficker who is suspected of having paid into a "gangland kitty" for the 2012 murder.

Exact details of the incident remained sketchy last night as the matter has not been reported to gardai.

However, sources say the attack could lead to increased tensions between dissident republicans and the drugs gang that had Ryan murdered.

The heavily-tattooed 32-year-old thug, whose life has been in danger since Ryan was shot dead, is understood to have been confronted by a dangerous Donaghmede dealer.

A few words were exchanged, a brutal fight ensued and Ryan's pal received a severe hiding.

An upsurge in activities associated with Ryan's mob has been noticed in recent weeks, with some of his closest associates observed walking the streets in what is described as a show of strength.

monitoring

It has also emerged that gardai are monitoring whether the IRA are planning a new terrorist attack despite the fact that most of its senior members are before the courts on serious charges.

Despite this, the mob that had Ryan shot dead in September 2012 thought nothing of beating up his best mate who fled to Dublin's south inner city after the high-profile killing.

The Coolock drugs gang, who are headed up by a so-called Mr Big, continue to be hugely active and are involved in a number of intimidation rackets including one against a bar worker following a dispute over the Christmas period.

It is understood that the drug dealer who beat up Ryan's pal paid €20,000 into a gangland kitty of more than €200,000 organised by north Dublin gangsters who decided to murder the dissident leader because he had been extorting money from them.

Ryan was gunned down in Clongriffin, north Dublin, in broad daylight.

hnews@herald.ie

http://www.sligotoday.ie/details.php?id=35920

Gardai investigate pipe bomb explosion in Ballisodare.

Gardaí are investigating the explosion of a device in Ballisodare in Sligo.

The device is believed to have exploded under a van on Young's Road (Avena Estate) at about 5.30am yesterday morning, causing damage to nearby property, however the situation was not discovered until the afternoon.

Army bomb disposal experts were called to the scene to carry out post-blast analysis.

A number of residents were evacuated from their homes after the discovery was made at about 3pm yesterday afternoon. They returned to their homes at about 7pm.

The scene has been preserved.

Local Sinn Fein Councillor Thomas Healy said worried local residents are keen to find out the cause of the incident.

A meeting of residents is expected to take place shortly.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and...prise-1.2196951

Sean Connolly guilty plea on Eamon Kelly murder a surprise
Convicted man a ruthless dissident republican gunman who killed for money.

The guilty plea by Sean Connolly to the murder of fellow Dubliner Eamon Kelly was a surprise turn of events, even for gardaí investigating the case.

This is not the first time a killer has admitted his crime, of course. But killers get no inducement, including the prospect of a shorter sentence, for admitting they have taken a life.
Normally when those who kill confess to what they have done, it is because they acted in a moment of madness or passion, or perhaps under the influence of drink or drugs - and are full of remorse.
In other cases, those who plead guilty to murder have taken the lives of people close to them and want to spare members of their family or social circle the trauma of a lengthy trial.
Overwhelming evidence
In a small number of cases, killers are confronted with such an overwhelming body of evidence that they simply surrender in order to begin an inevitable life sentence – which is on average 20 years now – as fast as they can.
None of these factors applied to Connolly.
He is a ruthless dissident republican gunman who killed for money.
While he was arrested close to the scene of the killing of Kelly after his escape went wrong, he was caught far from red-handed. He was trying at the time to set the car used for the crime on fire, after the murder weapon had been spirited away.
The reason for his guilty plea is perhaps to be found in the very clear media narrative around the case.
It has been suggested Connolly is an informer who supplied information to the Garda on the other dissident republicans involved in Kelly’s murder.
If this were accepted in dissident circles, Connolly’s life would be under extreme threat even if he were locked behind a range of protective measures in prison.
As a free man, his life would likely be stress-filled.
His guilty plea makes a lie, or at least appears to make a lie, of any suggestion he is a “rat”.
If he is starting a life sentence in jail, where are the inducements for the information he is supposed to have surrendered?
The fact he has been held on the E Wing of Portlaoise Prison, which houses around 45 subversive prisoners, strongly suggests he has successfully stayed ahead of the newspaper coverage in convincing those around him he is not an informer.
From the Bernard Curtis House flats complex in Bluebell in west Dublin, 35-year-old Connolly has a long association with the Real IRA and more recently with the so-called New IRA - a coalition of sorts of dissident republican factions.
He was convicted in July 2006 of membership of the Real IRA and jailed for six years.
Real IRA fundraising
He was caught with a shotgun as he and others were about to rob a bookmaker’s in Bluebell in September 2000 as part of a Real IRA fundraising operation.
He was jailed in 2001 for four years for that crime, and was not long out of prison when arrested after a Garda surveillance operation in December 2004 that led to his membership conviction 18 months later.
He shot gangland godfather Kelly (65) outside his middle-class home at Furry Park Road in Killester in December 2012 because Kelly refused to accede to demands for protection money from the Real IRA.
Gardaí patrolling in the area sped to the scene, and while the killing had taken place and Kelly was dead, they found Connolly just up the street trying to set fire to a vehicle used to bring the killers to the scene.
While there was to be eyewitness evidence that would have linked the car to the murder moments earlier, the gun was never found and those who actually carried out the shooting were masked.
Kelly was himself a well-known criminal figure who had survived an attempt on his life outside his home two years before he was killed. The would-be killer’s gun jammed, forcing him to flee on foot.
The Dublin Real IRA cell headed by Alan Ryan was believed to be behind that botched attack.
Ryan was himself later shot dead by a coalition of gangland figures trying to take on the dissidents and avoid giving into their extortion demands.
While Kelly is believed to have been shot as part of the extortion-based feud, the desire to avenge Ryan’s murder was always regarded as a factor in the killing.
Kelly, who once worked as a labourer, began his career in crime in the 1960s. His earliest convictions were for housebreaking and shop-breaking.
Legitimate business
After initial brushes with the law he began to project an image of an upwardly mobile young businessman, eager to make his way in legitimate business.
He became involved, with his brother Matt Kelly, in the Kelly’s Carpetdrome business, though it collapsed with huge debts in 1981.
Kelly was associating with figures in the Official IRA in the early 1980s and was jailed after stabbing a man in a row outside the Workers’ Party’s social club on Gardiner Street in Dublin’s north inner city.
Eamon Kelly then joined his peers in carrying out major cash robberies.
His plans in the early 1990s to develop a cocaine route from Colombia to Ireland via Miami, using a Cuban female drugs mule, were new to Ireland.
When he went to Jurys Hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin, in September 1992 to collect smuggled cocaine worth £500,000, he was arrested and later jailed for 14 years.
On release, Kelly became known as a man who schooled and advised others engaged in major robberies, including Gerry Hutch and the murdered Finglas-based robbery and drugs gang leaders Marlo Hyland and Eamon Dunne.
It was his association with those gangs that made him a target for extortion and which ultimately led to his murder.