http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/cou...e-31203368.html

Murder trial jury shown revolver retrieved from 'burnt out' vehicle close to shooting scene.

The jury in a murder trial have been shown a revolver that was retrieved from a "burnt out" vehicle close to where a Dublin man was shot more than two years ago.

Keith O'Neill (39) from Lissadell Drive, Drimnagh in Dublin has pleaded not guilty to murdering John Wilson on September 28th, 2012 at his home on Cloverhill Road, Ballyfermot Dublin 10.
Taking to the stand, Garda Denis Sweetman told Mr Conor Devally SC prosecuting that he was directed to take charge of the viewing of CCTV showing a dark vehicle at Cherry Orchard Crescent on September 28th.
Garda Sweetman pointed out a figure emerging in a dark jacket and smoke appearing from the left hand side of the screen.
Detective Garda Mark Collander from the ballistics section of the garda technical bureau described a 0.357 Ruger 100 revolver that was retrieved from a Volkswagen Passat.
Detective Collander confirmed with Mr Devally that he had cause to examine a vehicle on September 28th 2012.
"The vehicle had been burnt out I could get a strong smell of petrol or accelerant from the vehicle," he said.
"I retrieved a revolver and I rendered the firearm safe. The same gun was showing six cylinders discharged," he added.
The court heard a burnt striped garment and black gloves were also recovered from the vehicle.
The trial, which continues this afternoon before a jury of five women and seven men, is expected to last two weeks.
Online Editors

http://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/psni-checkpoints-return-streets-belfast-9196221

PSNI checkpoints return to streets of Belfast amid fears of further dissident republican attacks.

There was also an increased police presence in the city centre, with additional patrols in place on arterial routes throughout the day.

Vehicle checkpoints returned to Belfast today as police ramped up the security presence in the city.

There were a number of checkpoints – commonplace throughout the Troubles – across Belfast following a spate of dissident republican terror attacks.

There was also an increased police presence in the city centre, with additional patrols in place on arterial routes throughout the day.

Dissidents have stepped up their activity ahead of Thursday's General Election, with bomb attacks in Belfast and Derry.

In response, PSNI bosses vowed to use all resources at their disposal to combat the surge.

One of the region's most senior officers, Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Martin, said: “The dissident republican threat remains severe and, in light of the four attacks carried out in Belfast and Londonderry over the last two weeks, the PSNI will have an enhanced profile in local communities to provide safety and reassurance to everyone.

“I apologise in advance for any inconvenience this operation may cause, but seek the public’s support, patience and understanding in what we believe is a necessary step to attempt to prevent those with murderous intent going about their business.

“This is not a decision we take lightly and we will endeavour to ensure that the balance of how we police this threat is right, as well as trying to keep disruption to a minimum. However, please be assured we will always prioritise public safety.

“There is no perfect security solution to terrorism. Long term success against the small group of people intent on causing disruption and harm to the community needs a combination of policing, community and political efforts and it is vital we all play our part.”

He added: “I would ask people to continue to be vigilant at all times. If you see any suspicious activity or any suspect objects, please report it to police immediately.”

Checkpoints were brought back to Belfast last Christmas amid fears dissidents would target revellers.

Earlier today Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness issued a joint statement in which they vowed not to be “deterred by the bullet or the bomb”.

Referring to the street execution of former IRA leader Gerard 'Jock' Davison, they said: “This murder and these attacks and all other forms of violence are to be condemned. Attacks such as these are designed to take us back and they will fail.

“We must create a community where everyone feels safe and we will not be deterred by the bullet or the bomb and urge anyone with any information to bring it to the PSNI.

“Peace and democracy is the only way forward.”

http://www.herald.ie/news/courts/dead-ma...l-31214056.html

Dead man's kitchen door was riddled with bullet holes, garda arms expert tells murder trial.

ANNE SHARKEY – 12 MAY 2015 03:00 AM

a garda ballistics expert has told a murder trial he saw several bullet holes in the kitchen door of a dead man's house as his body lay under a blanket at his feet.

Keith O'Neill (39), of Lissadell Drive, Drimnagh, has pleaded not guilty to murdering John Wilson (35) on September 28, 2012, at his home in Cloverhill Road, Ballyfermot.

Det Gda Dennis Sweetman told Conor Devally, prosecuting, that both the accused man and the deceased were present on CCTV footage recorded hours before the shooting.

Det Sweetman said the footage showed Wilson entering a shop from Cherry Orchard Avenue. He then said O'Neill entered the same shop from the right hand side.

The officer said the footage showed Wilson enter the frame from the right wearing a motorcycle jacket and helmet and remaining on the screen at the deli counter area.

He is then seen leaving the shop at 10.39am and walking towards his motorbike seconds after Keith O'Neill and another person leave through the same exit.

Gda Mark Collander, attached to the garda ballistics section, told Mr Devally that he was present at the home of the deceased on September 28, 2012.

"I went to the house at Cloverhill Road and entered the house via the front door," he said.

"On the floor I saw a dead body who I know now to be John Wilson and it was covered by a blanket. There was a number of bullet holes in the door that led into the kitchen.

"From the front door into the hallway there were six bullet holes in and around that door. The bullets passed straight through into the kitchen.

"I retrieved the firearm. I cleaned the firearm itself and tested it."

revolver

Gda Collander told Mr Devally that he had formed the opinion that two of the bullets found at the home of the deceased had both been discharged from a Ruger 100 revolver that gardai had already taken into evidence.

In relation to the remaining bullets, he said he was unable to form a definitive opinion on whether or not they had been discharged from the same gun.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt told the jury of five women and seven men that they would not be required to return until tomorrow.

The trial is expected to last two weeks.

http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/shocking-claims-dissident-republicans-patrolling-5581366

hocking claims that dissident republicans are patrolling streets in Northern Ireland 'on lookout for police officers'

A picture was posted on Facebook by a republican group who said it showed members of the Continuity IRA
Armed dissident republicans are patrolling the streets of Northern Ireland on the lookout for police, it has been claimed.

A picture was posted on Facebook by a republican group who said it showed members of the Continuity IRA patrolling a housing estate in Lurgan.

Below it, a statement read: "Volunteers of the Continuity Irish Republican Army pictured during the week patrolling the streets of Lurgan, Co Armagh on the lookout England's armed colonial police, the RUC/PSNI and undercover British Soldiers who are operating unwanted across occupied Ireland."

A senior politician called for police to launch an investigation immediately.

Upper Bann DUP candidate David Simpson said: "It is clear that dissident republicans are attempting to exert some level of control within Lurgan, and posts on social media within the last 24 hours include pictures of armed and masked men purportedly ‘patrolling’ in Lurgan.

"The offending post has been reported to Facebook for review as it is clearly promoting an illegal terrorist organisation.

"However, the police must investigate whether such dissident terrorist ‘patrols’ are taking place.

"The entire community must take a stand against such organisations and their attempt to get a grip on communities right across Northern Ireland.

"Unfortunately not all political parties were able to clearly condemn the promotion and hatred espoused in Lurgan on Easter Sunday.

"Perhaps now, when there is no active police investigation into this issue yet, all candidates asking for support from the people of Upper Bann could clearly condemn the presence of masked gunmen on the streets of Lurgan."

Earlier this month a masked gunman reportedly fired a volley of shots during an Easter Rising Commemoration in Lurgan.

The sinister ‘show of strength’ was said to have taken place in broad daylight at St Colman’s Cemetery.

They were said to have been fired by a gunman allegedly aligned with the Continuity IRA.

The Continuity IRA claimed responsibility for the murder of PSNI Stephen Carroll, who was shot dead as he responded to an emergency call in the nearby Lismore Estate in 2009.

His widow Kate said she was “dismayed” and “horrified” at images of the macabre display.

PSNI Superintendent David Moore previously said: “While we are aware of footage of shots being fired by a masked gunman in a graveyard, allegedly filmed in Lurgan on Saturday, no reports of this incident have actually been made to police and we have been unable to verify the media reports of this alleged incident.

“Anyone with information about incidents of this nature or anyone who has witnessed such a display should contact police immediately and share what they know so the matter can be fully investigated.”

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/new...s-31219947.html

Six held after firearm, suspect device and bomb components found in Garda raids.

Army bomb disposal teams have been called in after a suspect device and bomb components were discovered in a series of raids.

Four were arrested by armed gardai after 20 premises across Louth, Dublin and Wexford were searched by detectives probing dissident republicans.
Separately, diversion are in place on the N16 at Glenfarne, Co Leitrim, after gardai on traffic duty recovered a firearm and suspected bomb parts in a car at 11.45am.
"Two males in their 20’s were arrested at the scene and are currently detained under the provisions of Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act at Manorhamilton Garda Station," said a Garda spokesman.
"The scene is currently preserved and the assistance of the Army EOD has been requested."
Elsewhere gardai said a suspect device was discovered in Courtown, Co Wexford, during an operation targeting dissident republicans.
"The area has been cordoned off and the Army EOD team are on their way to the scene," a Garda spokesman said.
Component parts for explosives devices were discovered at some of the other locations searched.
"All component parts will now be subject to technical examination," he added.
"Investigations are ongoing."
Meanwhile all four suspects are currently detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against Act at various Garda Stations across Dublin.
One of the men is aged in his 60’s and the other three in their 20’s.
The men are being held on several offences, including directing terrorism, membership of an unlawful organisation, possession of explosives.
Gardai said members of the Special Detective Unit on Harcourt Square and Crime & Security in Garda Headquarters were involved int he operation.
Teams were supported by the Garda Emergency Response Unit, Technical Bureau, Dog Unit and uniform and detective Gardai from the Louth and Wexford Divisions.
Online Editors

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ira-plotted-bomb-prince-charles-5699813

IRA plotted to bomb Prince Charles and Camilla next week with string of Omagh-style devices.

Security for their trip has been beefed up after police today found several devices packed with ­ball-bearings and scrap metal ready to launch a massacre.

IRA terrorists had plotted to line the route of Prince Charles and Camilla’s tour through Ireland with bombs in a cynical bid to make sure the royal couple would not escape being hit, sources have revealed.

Security for next week’s trip has been beefed up after police today found a string of devices like the one used in the 1998 Omagh atrocity primed and ready to launch a ­devastating massacre.

The explosives were thought to have been packed with ­ball-bearings and scrap metal to maximise the carnage, meaning dozens of other innocent people would have been killed or maimed.

It came just a day after anti-terror officers found bomb-making equipment.

Seven men have so far been arrested after the deadly plot was foiled. Two were found with ­improvised ­explosives and a handgun.

Photopress BelfastOmagh Bomb sceneAtrocity: Scene following Omagh bomb
As the suspects remained in custody tonight, a security source said: “These were serious bombs.

“It’s not as if these were two criminal gangs wanting to blow the exhausts of each other’s cars. These were the real deal.

"They had the ability to maim and kill within a massive radius. They were going to be used as car bombs which were to be dotted along the route the royals were expected to take.

“These would have been the same type of bomb used during the Omagh bombing in 1998. Thankfully, the bombs have been caught but police are still going to be keeping a very high alert on for the next two weeks.”

Below: Families of Omagh victims awarded millions in 2009 civil action


A Republican source told how the plot, launched by both the Real and Continuity IRA, was a bid to let the world know they are still in existence and the royals are not safe from their murderous intentions – despite the success of the peace talks in Ulster.

The insider added: “This has been an IRA operation to ­intimidate the royals and the British people.

“There were plans to set off a number of bombs along the roads Charles and his wife were supposed to take. They were also going to be set off in other areas across the country as a decoy distraction technique to make the Brits think an attack was coming.

"If all went to plan, you’d have to say their main intent was to kill.”

Areas of dissident activity in Ireland
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has insisted Charles and Camilla will have enough protection during the tour, which begins next Tuesday.

She said: “I expect Prince Charles will have a very positive visit. Clearly, the police are alert to any security issues and will deal with any that are arising. The vast majority of people in Ireland welcome the visit.”

The bombs were found in Dromiskin, outside Dundalk, Co Louth.

They were both complete and in component parts. Some were ready to be loaded into two cars to be taken to their intended murder site.

It is the latest find in a police blitz on dissidents ahead of the royal tour. The seven men arrested, all prominent Republicans, were being quizzed in police stations across Ireland.

They were held in Louth, Kildare, Leitrim, Wexford and Dublin.

One is a senior figure with ­connections to ­assassinated Real IRA leader Alan Ryan and jailed terrorist Michael McKevitt. He was linked to the Omagh town centre bombing which killed 29 people and left 220 others injured.

PAMourners attend the funeral of Real IRA member Alan Ryan at the Church of the Holy Trinity in cemetery in Balgriffen, north Dublin. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday September 8, 2012Feared: IRA terrorist
The day after Charles and Camilla arrive in Ireland they will visit Mullaghmore in Co Sligo – where the prince’s great uncle Lord Bountbatten was killed on August 27, 1979 by an IRA bomb on his boat.

Charles got on well with the peer and was devastated by his death.

But though he has been on two official visits to Ireland, he has never been to the scene of the murder to pay his respects. Two of those being quizzed were arrested in Leitrim, less than an hour away from Mullaghmore.

The Sligo Chamber of Commerce insisted the prince will enjoy a warm welcome, despite the IRA threat.

A spokesman added: “We have every ­confidence the prince’s visit will be a very successful one. All necessary ­security precautions are being taken.”

http://www.herald.ie/news/gang-target-flees-country-after-five-attempts-on-life-31230783.html

Gang target flees country after five attempts on life.

KEN FOY – 18 MAY 2015 08:19 AM

The country’s number one gangland target has finally decided to flee the country and is now based in England, the Herald can reveal.

Michael Frazer (35), who has survived at least five separate attempts to murder him in the past 14 months, previously proclaimed he would never flee abroad.

However, sources say that he has not made contact with gardai for a number of weeks and detectives have received information that the under-threat car dealer is now in England.

Drimnagh man Frazer, who had been living in the capital’s south inner city, has been a main target for many of the country’s most dangerous crime groupings, including his former pals in the ‘Fat’ Freddie Thompson mob, thugs associated with gangland hardman Paul Rice, as well as a ruthless hitman-for-hire from Clondalkin.

It is understood that Frazer is in “so much bother” over a personal issue involving serious gangsters.

READ MORE: Gardai foil yet another attempt on gang target Michael Frazer's life

Frazer, who does not have serious criminal convictions, is no stranger to violence. His family home in Drimnagh has been shot at on a number of occasions and a grenade was even thrown into it in June 2008, causing extensive damage to the property.

All these incidents were linked to the now-defunct Crumlin/Drimnagh feud but in March of last year it emerged that Frazer was a top gang target again when he was shot a number of times in a botched hit in the car park of a church in Clondalkin.

He later stumbled into Clondalkin Garda Station “pumping blood” after driving his Mini Cooper from the shooting at Bawnogue Road, Clondalkin. Gardai believe the gun attack was carried out by a notorious hitman who is the chief suspect for two murders in west Dublin.

The next major incident happened last July when the Organised Crime Unit (OCU) intercepted an assassination team in the South Circular Road area and these same mobsters were also arrested by gardai in January of this year dressed in disguises, ready to pounce on their targets. On both occasions this notorious duo were released without charge.

An even more serious attempt on Frazer’s life occurred at a pub car park in Firhouse on August 1 last year. Frazer was lured to a meeting in the car park of a pub in the south Dublin suburb when a masked gunman walked up to his car and tried to open fire.

But the weapon jammed and Frazer rushed to nearby Tallaght Garda Station to report the incident.

A short time later, locals in the Allenton estate in Tallaght contacted gardai to report two men wearing balaclavas were attempting to hijack cars after a getaway car used in the earlier incident was found burnt and a semi-automatic pistol was found in the vehicle.

panicked

Crime figure Paul Rice was later arrested but released without charge in relation to this incident but the pressure continued to increase on Frazer.

Around a fortnight after this, armed gardai rushed to Brickfield Park in Drimnagh after Frazer made a panicked call to gardai saying he saw a man wearing a balaclava standing outside the house.

In January of this year, two heroin addicts from the Ballyfermot area were arrested and questioned about another failed murder attempt on Frazer at Islandbridge on November 1 last.

The junkie duo were released without charge even though their DNA was found on airbags in the stolen car that rammed into Frazer’s BMW.

http://www.sundayworld.com/news/courts/p...cipate-in-death

Prosecution says it is 'inescapable' that accused participate in killing.

Lawyers for the State have told a murder trial jury it is "inescapable" that the accused participated in the death of a man in Dublin more than two years ago.

Keith O'Neill (39) from Lissadell Drive, Drimnagh in Dublin has pleaded not guilty to murdering John Wilson (35) on September 28th, 2012 at his home on Cloverhill Road, Ballyfermot Dublin 10.

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In his closing speech, Mr Conor Devally SC prosecuting described the shooting as a "brutal event".

"This is a case of murder - Mr John Wilson was murdered. If somebody points a gun at somebody and discharges bullets into him and he died, there is unlikely to be any question as to whether that was murder," he said.
"It is the prosecutions case that the murder was one perpetrated by Mr O'Neill.

I will go into a sequence of evidence and paint a picture where it is inescapable that Mr O'Neill participated in the death of Mr Wilson," he continued.

"This is a case in which investigation took place that brought gardai to check a number of CCTV cameras. Garda Mark Collander described the bullets embedded in the wall saying they came from the gun that was found in a smouldering car not far away in Cherry Orchard," he said.

"On September 28th, we know some of the movements of Mr Wison and many of the movements of Mr O'Neill. We know that at 10.30 in the morning, he was wearing certain items of clothing including quite a distinctive t-shirt," he said.

"The events occur at Cloverhill Road and there is a description by the daughter (of the deceased) which adds to the picture that this was a brutal event and it obviously happened."

"The remainder of the evidence makes it clear it happened with an open doorway and with Mr Wilsons friend who had been in the car becoming very panicky and making his way down the street," he said.

"Minutes before three o'clock, gardai were alerted and were on the scene. There was a bit of chaos and guards doing their best to clear the scene."

"After the killing, (the accused) is easy to follow because there are kids trotting around beside him. He went to JD sports and he has a transaction where he buys goods - goods into which he changes," he said.


"Mr O'Neill purchased a new wardrobe - he didn't wait to get home before he wore them - he puts on all his new clothes and hangs around the shopping centre before going home," said Mr Devally.

"Not long after he goes out with one of his children. There are various viewings of him going down the street carrying JD sports bags. This journey was not just about household rubbish - a pair of runners, jeans and two t shirts were all disposed of," he continued.

"Evidence suggests that those jeans, when retrieved, were in the JD bag - there are particles on the jeans consistent with firearms residue," he said.

"There was petrol on socks, residue on jeans, a phone and clothes disposed of - to explain them as being consistent with innocence is to sell yourselves short," he added.

"The alternative is that this is the unluckiest man in Ireland," he concluded.
Mr Anthony Sammon SC defending said there was no evidence of a motive and nothing connecting Keith O'Neill with the Ruger gun found in the burnt out car.

"If Keith O'Neill is not the shooter, it would suggest there was a transfer of gunshot residue - how did it happen and where," asked Mr Sammon.

"How come items were taken from a skip without (the forensic scientist) being furnished with details of what was in the skip - under no circumstances should evidence be taken to the forensic scientist where there have been several contamination points," he said.

"A car used regularly by firearms users is likely to be significantly contaminated - it is the worst possible place for items to be taken off to see if they have anything on them," he said
"What is going on that you can have that utter lack of professionalism. The car was a mobile contamination bin," stated Mr Sammon.

"There is not a scintilla of evidence in terms of motive. We do not have any connection between Keith O'Neill and the Ruger burnt out gun in the car," he continued.

"There is nothing to attach Keith O'Neill to with what was undoubtedly the killing gun."

"You had the statement of the young daughter of the deceased man read to you," he said.

"Her statement was: 'I don't know who the bold boy was that did that to my dad but he was a little bit fat' - that doesn't fit with Mr O'Neill," he said.

"If you want to say 'twill do', to a person accused of murder where the stakes are colossally high, you can," he said.

"Why should you drop your standards just because other professionals have - don't," he concluded.

The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Tony Hunt and a jury of five women and seven men.

http://www.herald.ie/news/gang-using-sex-offender-for-shootings-31232917.html

ROBIN SCHILLER – 19 MAY 2015 03:00 AM

AN ORGANISED crime gang is using a notorious sex offender to carry out shootings and punishment-style attacks, the Herald can reveal.

The gang, which is based in Bray, Co Wicklow and is led by a well-known criminal, are using the thug as one of their main enforcers.

Since being released from prison he has been the chief suspect in a litany of shootings, including three in the last year alone.

He is suspected of carrying out the shooting of Bray native Tiernan Stokes (24) in August of last year.

Stokes was shot in the back of both his legs, and although his injuries were non-life threatening, he was forced to under go rehabilitation to recover from his wounds.

A source explained how the vicious sex offender is being used as an enforcer for the gang, and described him as a volatile individual.

"If the gang want something done, they call this lad up to do it for them. He has absolutely no hesitation in carrying out the gang's dirty work.

He's been the main suspect in a number of shootings, and is a dangerous man," the source explained

The thug is also suspected of being involved in a shooting at the Oil Can Harry's pub on August 31 of last year, where a group were celebrating a Christening at the time.

Shooting

The suspect, armed with a handgun let off a number of shots, injuring a 19-year-old and 20-year-old before fleeing the scene in a car. The two casualties, who were not the intended targets, were brought to St Vincent's Hospital, but their injuries were non life-threatening.

Also in the pub socialising at the time of the shooting was major gangland figure Mark 'The Guinea Pig' Desmond.

Gardai received intelligence that Desmond had a heated verbal argument with the convicted criminal leading the Bray faction earlier that evening, and detectives are enquiring about a possible link between the argument and the shooting.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/n...s-31185885.html

National Crime Agency: We'll smash criminal networks of paramilitaries.

Dissident republicans and loyalist paramilitaries have been warned that the National Crime Agency will be out to smash their criminal networks when it becomes fully functional in Northern Ireland.

PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton said the NCA would provide a significant boost to his service's efforts to dismantle the organised rackets the gunmen use to make money.

The UK's national crime fighting body will start working at full capacity in the region on May 20 after a long political impasse delayed the move.

The threat posed by dissident republicans opposed to the peace process remains severe and this month has witnessed a spate of attacks, with a police patrol coming under fire from a launched explosive device in Belfast and a bomb exploding outside a Probation Board Probation Board building in Londonderry. No one was injured in the incidents.

There has an also been an upsurge in violent paramilitary style attacks by members of the outlawed Ulster Defence Association (UDA) in the north Antrim area, including a murder and a number of other shootings.

Mr Hamilton told members of his oversight body - the NI Policing Board - his officers were already doing great work to tackle the paramilitary threat. But he said the NCA would add another dimension to the PSNI's capability.

The NCA will not be involved in counter-terrorism operations in Northern Ireland, but its remit will include organised criminality committed by paramilitaries, such as smuggling, drug dealing and counterfeiting.

"The National Crime Agency will become operational in Northern Ireland next month," Mr Hamilton said after the board meeting in Belfast.

"Their job is to tackle serious and organised crime. We shouldn't pretend that loyalist paramilitary criminal gangs or violent dissident republicans are not engaged in organised criminality - that's how they generate their funds.

"So there is a place where this national security threat, these terrorist groups, bump into organised criminality and where that happens we will use whatever facilities that are available to us, including the National Crime Agency, to bring them to justice, to make their life difficult, to seize their assets, to confiscate their money and to make life difficult.

Officers of the National Crime Agency during a training exercise in England
Officers of the National Crime Agency during a training exercise in England
"That is well within the remit of the NCA as they tackle serious and organised crime."

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The political agreement at Stormont that delivered the green light for NCA implementation was made possible by the introduction of beefed-up oversight measures to ensure agency officers were accountable to the Policing Board and subject to Police Ombudsman scrutiny, with Mr Hamilton also retaining operational control of their work.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/cou...r-31239048.html

A Dublin man has been sentenced to life imprisonment after a jury found him guilty of the murder of 35-year-old John Wilson in 2012.

Keith O'Neill (40) from Lissadell Drive, Drimnagh in Dublin had pleaded not guilty to murdering John Wilson (35) on September 28th, 2012 at his home on Cloverhill Road, Ballyfermot Dublin 10.
John Wilson was shot twice in the hallway of his house more than two years ago.
The two-week trial heard that the daughter of the deceased told gardai in a statement: "I just heard 'bang bang bang' - I could see my dad rolling around. I feel a little bit sad and a little happy because my dad is away from the bad boys now".
The Central Criminal Court heard that the deceased had driven to his home with his seven-year-old daughter and a friend when a gunman entered his house through the open front door and shot him from behind.
The Dublin man received two gunshot wounds to the left arm and to the chest, fatally injuring internal organs.

http://www.thejournal.ie/state-surveilla...ce=twitter_self

State surveillance: How Gardaí and others can secretly monitor you

Part One of TheJournal.ie’s two-part series on state surveillance in Ireland.

IN THIS TWO-part series, we go inside the murky world of surveillance in Ireland, and expose the alarming gap between what agents of the state can do to you, and what you are allowed to know, and do, about it.
In Part One, we examine the extraordinary powers given to Gardaí, the Defence Forces, and Revenue, and what we know about how they use those powers.
In the second part, we look at what the Irish government is refusing to reveal about surveillance, the disastrous consequences when state monitoring goes unchecked, and ask – how do we compare to other countries?
GARDAI CAN BREAK into your home, implant a video camera or recording device in your living room, and leave it there for three months.
And they can break in again to remove the device, without you ever knowing they were there.
Revenue can put a tracking device on your vehicle, and monitor your movements, for four months.
The Defence Forces can intercept your emails, and tap your phone.
It’s all governed by law, and intended to combat serious crime and protect the security of the state.
But despite the far-reaching nature of these powers, we know – and are allowed to know – very little about how they’re actually used.
Several government departments and state agencies have refused a series of Freedom of Information requests by TheJournal.ie, which asked for very basic information about the use of covert surveillance powers.
What can they do?
Mobile phone handsets warning
Source: PA Wire/Press Association Images
Surveillance in Ireland is basically governed by two laws: the 1993 Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages Act, and the 2009 Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act.
Under the 1993 Act:
Gardaí or the Defence Forces can tap phones and listen to phone calls, open and read letters before they arrive to their recipient, and (potentially) read emails
After the Garda Commissioner or Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces applies for permission from the Justice Minister
For up to three months (extendable)
If they can show the surveillance will yield evidence they couldn’t otherwise get
As part of an investigation into serious crime, to prevent a serious crime, or to protect the security of the State
Under the 2009 Act:
Gardaí, the Defence Forces and Revenue can secretly record you with audio and video devices
For three months
They can break into your home to implant a device, and again to remove it
If they can, they have to get permission from a District Court judge, but if it’s an emergency, a “Superior Officer” in each agency decides, and they get 72 hours to engage in the surveillance
Gardaí, the Defence Forces and Revenue can secretly put a tracking device on your vehicle, and follow your movements
For four months
Without permission from a District Court judge, but with the approval of a “Superior Officer” within each agency.
Interestingly, this year’s Garda Síochána (Amendment) Act also gives the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) powers of surveillance over Garda members it is investigating.
So Gardaí themselves can now be secretly bugged, wiretapped, recorded and have their internet use monitored, under the 1993 and 2009 Acts.
What can you do about it?
Internet surveillance tribunal
Source: Dominic Lipinski
You’re unlikely to ever know if you’ve been the subject of covert surveillance, if it’s done properly, or unless it’s disclosed in a trial.
However, if you have a suspicion that your letters have been opened, emails read, or phone tapped, you can take a case.
The “Complaints Referee”, appointed by the Taoiseach, (currently High Court Justice Carroll Moran), can receive reports from the public, investigate whether there was surveillance, if it was properly authorised, and if it involved any legal violations.
They can then decide to quash an authorisation from the Justice Minister (retroactively declare it illegitimate), order the destruction of any recordings from the surveillance, and even order financial compensation.
However, the investigations and decisions of the Complaints Referee are not published.
TheJournal.ie filed a Freedom of Information request with the Taoiseach’s Department (to whom the Complaints Referee reports) asking how many complaints – upheld or rejected – have been made since the Act came into force.
We were told that no such records were found.
So the Irish public is missing two important pieces of information: how often state agencies violate surveillance laws, and how likely are you to win a case if you’re thinking about bringing one.
What DO we know?
1993reports
Source: PA/Oireachtas.ie
There is some degree of oversight when it comes to Ireland’s state surveillance regime.
Both laws require a designated judge give an annual report to the Taoiseach and the Oireachtas on how the Gardaí, Defence Forces and Revenue are using their covert surveillance powers.
The level of scrutiny and detail, however, depends on the vigour and energy of the judge making the report.
And both laws contain provisions that allow the Taoiseach to remove sensitive sections from the version of the report that he provides to legislators.
Law lecturer and chairman of Digital Rights Ireland, TJ McIntyre has been keeping a close eye on state surveillance for many years, and offers a mixed review of transparency surrounding the regime.
“You’re very much dependant on the happenstance of what the individual judge chooses to do and how they interpret their role,” he told TheJournal.ie.
In the case of the 2009 Act, McIntyre says the late Justice Kevin Feeney “took his job very seriously”, and produced reports that showed a “commitment to transparency.”
But designated judges for the 1993 Act – who are the only systematic and public overseers of the legal ability to wiretap phones – produce “derisory, identical, one-page reports, year in, year out,” he adds.
From 1994 until 2007, three separate designated judges produced identical reports on wiretapping, including only a one-sentence formula that achieves a minimal compliance with their remit under Section 8 of the 1993 Act:
I have kept the operation of the Act under review and I am satisfied that its provisions are being complied with.
Reports on the 2009 Act have been considerably more detailed, but still lack basic statistics.
Nonetheless, TheJournal.ie has been able to glean some interesting facts from those annual reviews.
We know that:
The overwhelming majority of surveillance involves tracking devices, which doesn’t require authorisation from a judge, and takes very little manpower
When a Garda member asks a Superior Officer to apply for a judge’s permission to perform surveillance, the Superior Officer almost always agrees
Judges almost always grant that authorisation
In one year (2009-2010) the number of surveillance requests approved internally by a senior Garda (“emergency” authorisations) was double the number approved by a judge.
Revenue agents almost always use the Act to place tracking devices on vehicles, as part of investigations into smuggling.
The Defence Forces rarely seek authorisation to bug, wiretap, and so on, under the 2009 Act, and didn’t do it once in 2012-2013.
We also know that the Gardaí keep a scrupulous record of every time surveillance is authorised, either by a District Court judge, or internally, by a senior Garda.
In his report on the 2009 Act for 2012-2013, Justice Michael Peart noted how helpful it was that Garda Headquarters kept a database and spreadsheet that were “easy to consult and review.”
TheJournal.ie asked the Gardaí for figures drawn from that permanent record, but they refused.
Furthermore, we know that Gardaí don’t consider other kinds of surveillance to be governed by the 2009 Act.
In his report for 2012-2013, Justice Peart mentioned that then Commissioner Martin Callinan, in an internal policy document, had advised that surveillance that doesn’t involve the use of devices, falls outside the legislation.
Which begs the question – what are the procedures, protocols and safeguards against abuse, which Gardaí have in place when it comes to following vehicles and persons, or watching movements in and out of homes?
TheJournal.ie put these questions, in detail, to An Garda Síochána, but they declined to comment.
In Part Two, we look at what Gardaí and the Irish government refuse to reveal about surveillance, the disastrous consequences of unchecked monitoring, and see how Ireland compares to the countries that brought you the NSA and GCHQ.

http://www.thejournal.ie/preview.php?article_id=2105584&preview_type=post

tate surveillance: What the government and Gardaí don’t want you to know

Part Two of TheJournal.ie’s two-part series on state surveillance in Ireland.

N THIS TWO-part series, we go inside the murky world of surveillance in Ireland, and expose the alarming gap between what agents of the state can do to you, and what you are allowed to know, and do, about it.
In Part One, we examined the extraordinary powers given to Gardaí, the Defence Forces, and Revenue, and what we know about how they use those powers.
In the second part, we look at what the Irish government is refusing to reveal about surveillance, the disastrous consequences when state monitoring goes unchecked, and ask – how do we compare to other countries?
What do we NOT know?
dontknow
Source: Garry Knight via lick
Obtaining even basic information about the exercise of these extensive surveillance powers has been extremely difficult.
TheJournal.ie sent Freedom of Information requests seeking basic statistical information about surveillance and wiretapping to the Departments of the Taoiseach, Justice and Communications, as well as the Defence Forces, the Courts Service, and Revenue.
In all cases we were told either the records do not exist, or cannot be released.
An Garda Síochána has been given an extra six months, until October 2015, to be compliant with the 2014 FOI Act, but TheJournal.ie asked them for statistics anyway.
That request was also rejected.
In its refusal to disclose records about the 1993 Act, the Department of Justice invoked parts of the FOI Act which provide for non-disclosure “to prevent the impairment of law enforcement and public safety and to prevent adversely affecting the security and defence of the State.”
It is the decision maker’s opinion that to reveal information in respect of interception authorisations, including the number sought and granted, would be prejudicial to the public interest (Emphasis added).
Independent TD Mick Wallace has repeatedly raised the issue in the Dáil with the Taoiseach and former Justice Minister Alan Shatter, and sees a complete lack of transparency surrounding state surveillance.
wallaceshatter Mick Wallace and then Justice Minister Alan Shatter debating the Garda penalty points scandal.
Source: RTÉ via YouTube
“With their own so-called oversight, they have a judge that comes in once a year, and is under no obligation to actually look at figures or statistics,” he told TheJournal.ie.
Some reports have contained approximations (“under 100,” “a small double figure number”) but no judge has ever included actual figures or statistics in his annual review.
In 2013, [Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill] was able to look at the details in McKee Barracks [the Defence Forces], the Department of Justice, Revenue and Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park, all in one day, which is great going.
And he said he was very happy with everything he saw.
In an exchange with Alan Shatter last year, at the height of the scandal surrounding alleged Garda bugging of GSOC and recording of legally privileged phone conversations, Wallace said Gardaí were “a law unto themselves.”
The request for statistics does not threaten in any way or reveal any Garda methods or operations as they are general figures and do not relate to specific operations.
The Minister cannot prove this system is functioning unless he gives us the statistics.
In response to a query from TheJournal.ie, a spokesperson for Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald reaffirmed the long-standing refusal to publish statistics:
This is for sound reasons of public policy related to national security and the investigation of serious crimes which may be hindered by the publication of such information.
Particular considerations arise in Ireland given the small size of the jurisdiction and the specific terrorist threat posed by paramilitary groups.
‘Catastrophic’ errors?
PA-3557366 File photo of UK police confiscating computer equipment.
Source: PA
We don’t know when Gardaí and others make mistakes in their monitoring and surveillance.
In Britain – where statistics and other details are published – there have been cases where technical errors lead to “catastrophic” consequences.
One official report gave this harrowing example:
Police took swift action when information from a reliable source suggested that a number of very young children were at immediate risk of falling into the hands of a paedophile ring.
Subscriber information relating to an Internet Protocol (IP) Address was obtained in order to locate an address for the children, but unfortunately it would appear this was not correct.
The police entered the address and arrested a person who was completely innocent…
What was the error? Confusion between an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and law enforcement, over the time zone of a particular IP address.
The UK experience also shows that, more often than not, it’s public bodies – not telecommunications companies – who make such mistakes.
An analysis of official figures by British lawyer Graham Smith, shows that over the last decade, 72% of “data errors” – incorrectly entered IP addresses, confusion involving Daylight saving time – were the fault of state agencies.
The incident described above, according to the report, led to reforms designed to improve the process.
In Ireland, we simply don’t know how many mistakes – catastrophic or otherwise – are being made.
Without the scrutiny that comes with comprehensive, published reports, Gardaí and others lack that particular incentive to improve their systems.
Digital Rights Ireland chairman TJ McIntyre explains:
It’s not that the telecommunications companies or police here make fewer mistakes – we just don’t have anybody actually picking up on it.
‘Off the books’ operations?
We also don’t know the extent to which Irish state agencies depend on companies to monitor internet and phone activity, as governed by the 2011 Communications (Retention of Data) Act, or whether they do it themselves.
TJ McIntyre says:
If this is something that’s being handled purely at the telecommunications company’s end, there will be some system in place that generates a paper trail.
But if it’s something that’s being done internally, either by the Gardaí or the Defence Forces, and they have the technology to do it independently, then there’s no guarantee of a paper trail, and you could have something being done ‘off the books.’
Last year, Vodafone asked the government for guidance on publishing the number of requests they had received for user data, in putting together their Transparency Report.
The Department of Justice controversially instructed Vodafone they were prohibited by law from doing so.
Is this situation normal?
Snowden Speaks NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden
Source: AP/Press Association Images
When it comes to international standards, McIntyre says Ireland ranks “very, very low indeed.”
The UK model is not particularly advanced, by any means, but it’s still much better than here.
Despite major controversies surrounding mass surveillance by Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), there is at least a system of record-keeping when it comes to surveillance and monitoring of the public there.
The Interception of Communications Commissioner’s Office keeps track of how often and why state agencies request user data from telecommunications companies.
In his 104-page report for 2014, the Commissioner provides extensive statistics, detailed breakdowns of the purpose of interception requests, and even figures and a breakdown of unlawful or mistaken interceptions.
The Office of Surveillance Commissioners provides similarly extensive and detailed annual reports, including statistics and breakdowns on “property interference,” “intrusive surveillance,” and also “irregularities” – unlawful or mistaken surveillance.
The Intelligence and Security Committee snooping report GCHQ, near Cheltenham.
Source: Barry Batchelor/PA
A series of revelations about National Security Agency (NSA) wiretapping and data collection has battered the global reputation of the United States.
But even there, transparency and oversight of surveillance is superior to our own.
A 1968 law requires US courts to submit annual reports to Congress on the number of authorisations for phone-tapping and email interception, including a breakdown of the purpose of requests, and even their average cost to the tax-payer.
In Ireland, the law requires the exact opposite.
Both Revenue and the Gardaí, in refusing TheJournal.ie’s requests for statistics on surveillance, invoked Section 13 of the 2009 Act, which forbids disclosing “any information in connection with the operation of this Act in relation to surveillance…”
The maximum punishment for sharing “any information” about state surveillance? A five-year prison sentence and €50,000 fine.
New regime?
New Garda Recruits
Source: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland
On replacing Alan Shatter as Justice Minister last May, Frances Fitzgerald promised a “new era” of reform, accountability and transparency in the Gardaí and the administration of justice.
But Wexford TD Mick Wallace says “we haven’t seen 5% of that.”
I’d like to be able to say that things were improving for the better under the new Commissioner and the new Minister for Justice, but sadly, everything has stayed the same.
When it comes to surveillance, Fitzgerald has made one change that Wallace had previously called for - giving GSOC new powers to bug, wiretap and track Gardaí.
But she has also sidestepped questions on surveillance programmes.
Last September, for example, Independent TD Clare Daly asked for the number of court orders to “tap-monitor text and call data” in the last five years.
Fitzgerald (rightly) corrected Daly, pointing out that she herself, the Justice Minister, was responsible for 1993 Act authorisations, and not the courts.
But she didn’t say how often she and her predecessors had actually done it.
Which was the point of the question.
Part One: What the state can do to you (and what you can do about it)>

Documents
1993 Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications (Messages) Act
2009 Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act
2011 Communications (Retention of Data) Act
Designated judges’ reports on the 1993 Act:
1994-2004
2006-2014
Designated judges’ reports on the 2009 Act, 2010-2014

http://www.sundayworld.com/news/crimedesk/man-arrested-in-connection-with-murder-of-dublin-man

Man arrested in connection with gun murder of Dublin criminal earlier this year
Thursday 21st May 2015.

A man in his 20s has been arrested in connection with the murder of Michael Devoy earlier this year.

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Gardai confirmed the man was was arrested in the city centre this morning by officers investigating the assassination.

He is currently detained under the provisions of Section 30 Offences Against the State Act 1939 as amended at Tallaght Garda Station.

The 42-year-old was shot dead in Tallaght, south Dublin on January 18 of this year.

He was discovered by Gardai lying dead on the side of the Fox Hill Road, near Bohernabreena, with gunshot wounds to his neck and body.

Cops on patrol noticed a suspicious car at about 10.30pm and when they approached a chase ensued.



The other vehicle managed to evade gardaí and when the cops returned to the scene they found lying Devoy shot to death on the road.

He was still wearing the bullet proof vest that he wore to thwart another attempt on his life. Devoy had previously survived two attempts on his life in recent years.

Devoy was a veteran criminal who was extremely well-known to gardai and had earned the reputation of a very violent individual.

He is also the chief suspect in the murder of 30-year-old Mark Byrne in May 2005.

Byrne, who had just been released from Mountjoy prison, was walking out of a shop after buying phone credit when a gunman shot him dead. The murder was later recreated on RTE drama Love/Hate.

Devoy was arrested over the murder and gardai were hopeful there was enough evidence to charge him – but the DPP disagreed.

He had more than 70 criminal convictions and has served prison sentences over the past 25 years for making threats to kill, possession of firearms as well as burglary, driving offences and other public order matters.

Read: Man arrested in connection with murder of Michael Devoy

http://www.sundayworld.com/news/northern-ireland/shots-fired-at-house-in-carrickfergus

Shots fired at house in Carrickfergus.

Shots have been fired at a house in Carrickfergus.

The attack happened shortly before 12.30am this morning (Thursday).


Nobody was injured in the attack.

http://www.derrynow.com/news/man-arreste...-in-derry/30705

Man arrested in probe into violent dissident republican activity in Derry.

A 20-year-old man has been arrested in Derry by police investigating "violent dissident terrorist criminality” in the city.

The man was detained in the Strathfoyle area this morning by detectives from the PSNI serious crime team.

Detective Chief Inspector Michael Harvey said the suspect had been taken to the serious crime suite at Antrim police station for questioning

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/...-ireland-police

'Jock' Davison shot with Soviet-style gun, say Northern Ireland police
Former IRA commander killed with Makarov type gun.

An assassin using a Soviet-era Makarov type gun shot IRA commander Gerard “Jock” Davison dead, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said on Tuesday.

The PSNI said the weapon and bullets used to shoot the 47-year-old former IRA gunman were of east European origin.

Det Supt Kevin Geddes, the senior investigating officer in the case, told BBC1’s Crimewatch the gun was “unusual” in the context of weapons normally used for close-range killings in Northern Ireland.

Mystery surrounds the killing of Davison in the Market area of central Belfast earlier this month. Within hours, the PSNI ruled out any republican dissident or Ulster loyalist involvement. Dissident republican prisoners held in the top-security Maghaberry jail outside Belfast even sent sympathy notices to a local paper.

Davison is believed to have either been personally responsible or ordered the deaths of up to 15 men from the early 1990s onwards. He is also accused of giving the order to attack Belfast man Robert McCartney that resulted in the Short Strand man’s death outside a city centre bar a decade ago.

Geddes told the Crimewatch programme: “The weapon and bullets used were an eastern European type called Makarov. These 9mm bullets are unusual in as much as they will not work in most types of western handgun. They are a slightly different size and can only be fired using a Makarov type gun.

“This type of weapon and ammunition are extremely rare in Northern Ireland. We have a photo of a Makarov type 9mm handgun which we are issuing. Someone knows about this weapon and its ammunition. We need people with information to come forward on the non-emergency police number 101.”

Geddes said: “The gunman is described by witnesses as being about 5ft 6in tall and was wearing a dark, hooded rain jacket. He made his escape from the scene up an alleyway towards Stanfield Place. We need to know where he went next. We are also issuing a photo of a similar type of jacket in the hope this may jog someone’s memory.

“We also believe the gunman may have been in the area some time before the shooting. A man fitting a similar description was seen standing at the junction of Welsh Street and McAuley Street at around 8.40am. A similar man was also seen with a red and white carrier bag, holding it with two hands on Welsh Street. They may be different people and they may be innocent members of the public. Either way, we need them to come forward so that they can be ruled out of our inquiries.”

http://www.sundayworld.com/news/northern...ent-republicans

Two arrests in Lurgan by cops investigating dissident republicans

Two men have been arrested by police investigating dissident republican terrorist activity.

The arrests took place today (Wednesday).

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The pair are aged 31 and 32.

They are currently being questioned at the Serious Crime Suite.

Detective Superintendent Karen Baxter confirmed that the police are carrying out a search in the Victoria Gardens area of the town.

http://www.sundayworld.com/news/crimedes...w-legit-targets

Gangland thug 'Buffalo' Billy warns how Real IRA members now 'legit targets'

Psycho gangland thug ‘Buffalo’ Billy Clare has given an extraordinary TV interview claiming that he was part of a squad who expelled former INLA commander Declan ‘Wacker’ Duffy from Dublin and quipped: “He’s not dead, not dead yet.”

The former paramilitary has also laid down the gauntlet to members of the Real IRA, saying: “I see republicans in Dublin, the likes of the Real IRA, I class them now as a legitimate target.”

In an bizarre interview, the extortionist – who was quizzed in connection with the murder of father-of-three Stephen O’Meara, who was buried alive in Wicklow – also describes in chilling detail how former Westies thug Bernard Sugg was shot dead and left “squealing like a pig” by an INLA unit he claims he was a member of.

Clare has served a sentence for membership of the Continuity IRA (CIRA) after the Special Criminal Court heard that he had extorted money from club boss Dave Mooney on behalf of the organisation.

It is understood that the CIRA has since renounced him, despite the fact that he continued to use their name to strike terror into communities in Wicklow and Wexford.

In the interview, which is part of a series titled ‘Gangsters: Faces of the Underworld’ to be screened on Quest, the bulked-up thug describes himself as a soldier in the “war against drug dealers”.



Presenter Bernard O’Mahoney, a reformed U.K. criminal, introduces Clare as: “Billy Clare shoots and bombs drug dealers simply because he loathes them and the damage their vile trade does to society.

“Described by the Irish media as a psychotic thug who terrorises communities, Clare prefers to see himself as a man on a mission for the good of all.”

During the interview, Clare says that at an early age he became involved in the Wolfe Tone Society in London, which he says “springboarded” him into extreme republicanism and the Provisional IRA.

He says the sort of operations he was sent on by the IRA in Dublin were “mostly directed towards drug dealers and that kind of activity” and goes on to say that by targeting them he means “execute them”.

“You don’t come to fight big drug gangs who have assets behind them using Salvation Army tactics, you got to hit them with full strength and hit them with everything you got. And look for a weakness. And you find a weakness.

“You know, whether it’s kidnapping, shootings, petrol bombing, grenades, you know whatever is being used on them.



“People will support that because these people are devastating communities and they don’t care about what they sell or who they sell it to, so you must meet them with the same train of thought. You don’t care about them or their families.”

Clare says that the intended targets were never warned if they were going to be “kidnapped or punishment shootings or executed”.

O’Mahoney says that Clare’s hatred for drug dealers resulted in his expulsion from the IRA, but “the more extreme Republican INLA saw his passion to beat, shoot and bomb those who pedal misery as an asset rather than a hindrance”.

O’Mahoney reveals: “The INLA were much smaller, but had the same train of thought and it was, you know, extreme violence. There was people executed on the INLA’s watch.”

Clare tells the documentary that his time in the INLA came to an end around 2000, when he says: “You had the likes of Declan Duffy (pictured above), who was the leader of the INLA in Dublin.

“He was, you know, a character. He was involved in backing up drug dealers and supporting them while pretending to be some kind of a crusader against drug dealers. He was expelled and he was sent packing from the capital.”

Clare also claims to have details of the shooting of Bernard ‘Verb’ Sugg.

“We had one incident where they were causing chaos and havoc in Blanchardstown.

“Bernard Sugg, or Verb as they called him, he was asked to come to a meeting and when he came to the meeting he was asked to desist from activities and leave the area.

“He refused to do so and as a result of that meeting he was blasted twice in the stomach and left squealing on the ground like a pig and the rat he was.

“You have to show these people more violence than they have imagined because these people live on a pedestal that because you are a drug dealer they must be violent and feared.”

Bizarrely, Clare claims he was declared clinically dead after his arrest for the murder of 26-year-old O’Meara.



The Sunday World understands that while he was being questioned he collapsed and was brought to hospital with a suspected heart attack believed to have been brought on by steroids.

However, Clare tells a different tale, claiming he was surrounded by masked and armed police and was “rendered unconscious”.

“It was later on that day when I was rushed into hospital in Dublin where I was pronounced clinically dead for a short while,” he says.

Later it transpired that they had forced me to drink poison and there was absolutely no investigation into my attempted murder by the Irish police.”

He goes on to say he is no longer in any group and regards paramilitaries such as the Real IRA as a legitimate target for him now.

“I class them now as a legitimate target. As far as I’m concerned, they work hand in hand with senior drug dealers both here and in Spain.

“The leader of the Real IRA in Dublin, his name was Alan Ryan.

“He was an unscrupulous character, not very likeable fella, a womaniser and basically a coward and you know every dog has his day and I suppose drug dealers had enough of him because they were taking, taking, taking… and using money from themselves on holidays, cars, putting cameras outside their houses and you know lining their own pockets, showing signs of wealth.

“So I mean he met his demise and you know, I have as much sympathy for him as I would for any other drug dealers.”

The Sunday World first unmasked Clare as a ‘gun for hire’ in 2010 when we attained a homemade video showing himself creeping about in a remote woodland and firing off one of his weapons.

http://www.sundayworld.com/news/crimedes...red-his-brother

Killer Wilson vows to ‘sort out’ junkie who murdered his brother.

Killer Keith Wilson tried to recruit two prisoners to “sort out” junkie hitman Keith O’Neill while he awaited trial for the murder of Wilson’s brother John.

O’Neill, from Ballyfermot, west Dublin, will have to spend his life behind bars looking over his shoulder after he was found guilty of murder this week.

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Wilson comes from one of the most notorious gangland families and some of his close relatives are locked up too and vowing revenge.

At John’s funeral, a letter was read out to the congregation from Keith stating: “I promise you, I will make it my mission in life to find out who did this to you.”

In the run-up to O’Neill’s murder trial, it is understood that Wilson, who is serving life for murder, tried to recruit two prisoners to attack his brother’s killer.
O’Neill was jailed this week for shooting John (35), at his home in Cloverhill Road in 2012.

Wilson had been involved in a bitter feud with Alan Ryan’s Real IRA gang, which led to a botched shooting in 2010. Ryan was eventually murdered in 2012.

It is understood that O’Neill (40), was ‘sub-contracted’ to murder Wilson who had a €40,000 contract on his head in the months before he was shot dead.

Keith Wilson’s brother Eric holds the dubious title of being one of the most prolific hired hitmen in recent criminal history. By the time he was finally locked up, aged just 27, Eric was suspected of 12 brutal murders.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinio...g-31270998.html

Scale of IRA's collusion with British state was shocking
It is too simplistic to paint collusion as something that took place between the state and loyalist paramilitaries. There is, in fact, a 40-year history of republicans toiling for the security services.

BY MALACHI O'DOHERTY – 02 JUNE 2015

In the lore of the IRA, there was traditionally no one more loathsome than the informer. This was thought to be the rare and despicable individual who would betray his comrades.

Some former members of the IRA now wonder if there were more informers inside the Provos than actual committed members.

Certainly, that appears to be true of the loyalists. The Stevens Inquiry reported that nearly every loyalist it spoke to was an agent.

Darragh McIntyre's BBC Panorama programme last week suggested different levels of collusion between the security forces and paramilitaries.

The most common type seems to have been the protection of agents who had killed and were likely to kill again.

On occasions, RUC Special Branch knew of planned attacks, tried to intercept them, and failed.

According to the De Silva report, they often knew of plans to murder other paramilitaries and did little to prevent these.

Furthermore, De Silva found that both the Army and Special Branch were suggesting targets to agents inside paramilitary groups, specifically to the loyalist killer Brian Nelson, since the focus of De Silva's report was the murder of solicitor Pat Finucane.

The UDA regarded Finucane as an intelligence officer for the Provisional IRA, who was engaged in money laundering.

Some in Special Branch encouraged them to target him.

No similar review of documentation has examined collusion between the state and members of the IRA - but it happened.

The De Silva report, for instance, describes efforts to protect two senior republicans.

One of them is given only a codename - 'T/02'. The other was Gerry Adams.

When Brian Nelson revealed a plan to bomb Adams by placing a limpet mine on his black taxi during the 1987 Genral Election campaign, the Army did not trust Special Branch with the information and set up its own operation to protect him.

Later, soldiers recovered the mine.

When the UDA returned to discussing how they might kill Adams, some in Special Branch appear to have suggested that Pat Finucane would be a better target.

De Silva found that state agencies justified suggesting targets to Nelson on the grounds that these attacks would absorb the energies of the loyalists and be easier to intercept. Ultimately, lives would be saved.

But they also found that Special Branch wasn't all that keen to warn a target if he was a 'thorn in the side'.

And they saw Finucane as one of those, having twice before failed to alert him to threats against him.

Another factor in the planning of the murder of Pat Finucane is that Nelson feared that if yet another attack went wrong, he would be exposed as an agent.

So, he kept the planning of the attack on Finucane secret from his handlers.

The Army itself had considered the other danger; that if Nelson was too successful in hitting senior IRA members, he would quickly be exposed.

Further, the Army would be in serious trouble if one of its agents was to kill Adams, an elected MP.

The earliest suggestion of an operation being allowed to proceed to cover for an agent was the bombing attack on London by Gerry Kelly, the Price sisters and others in March 1973.

Dolours Price, one of the bomb team, said in later years that the mission had been compromised and that someone close to the planning of it in Belfast had betrayed it.

Even so, Kelly and the Price sisters and the rest of the team were not arrested until after planting their bombs.

By 1972, the IRA was realising that it was going to have to kill an awful lot of people in the Catholic community to stop intelligence leaking out about them and that's when it hit on the idea of 'disappearing' suspects, rather than dumping their bodies in back alleys.

Three times they had just dumped the body and then said nothing.

That's what they did with John Kavanagh, Martin Owens and Sam Boyd. Those killings have never been explained.

On the same day that they detained Kevin McKee and Seamus Wright to 'disappear' them, Provos went into the club where William Bonner was drinking and lined everyone against the wall then picked him out and shot him in the head.

Some of the informers inside the IRA continued with their republican activities. Some were, indeed committed republicans, who felt they had been compromised by the Army, or police, but still tried to protect IRA operations; in effect, deceiving both sides and trying to maintain their credibility.

A recent article in An Phoblacht, written to discredit one of the biggest-known informers, Sean O'Callaghan, acknowledged that the IRA itself sometimes knew men were informers and preferred not to harm them.

At the end of the Provo campaign, we began to get some idea not just of the degree to which the IRA had been penetrated, but to what level.

The biggest shock was that Freddie Scappaticci, who was on the IRA security team, tasked with catching informers, was working for the British.

The Police Ombudsman is now investigating several killings of alleged informers by the IRA 'nutting squad'.

What other word than collusion better describes a state agent accusing people of informing, extracting confessions from them by torture and then killing them?

This raises the appalling prospect that many of those executed as informers were killed to protect real informers operating at a higher level.

Claims have been made by a former British Army agent that Martin McGuinness was himself an informer with the codename 'J118', though he has emphatically denied this and clearly his former comrades believe him, or he would have had to flee for his life.

But former Provos critical of the peace process routinely rehearse such claims against McGuinness and Adams and close relations on social media.

We do know that the head of administration in Sinn Fein, Denis Donaldson, was a police informer throughout most of the peace process.

He appears to be an example of an agent working for both sides, for he was implicated in gathering intelligence inside Stormont on members of the security forces and the Prison Service, many of whom had to move home after the scale of his spying was unearthed.

At the end of the Troubles, IRA members were afraid to go out on operations, because they didn't trust those they were sent out with not to be informers, or spies.

This massive infiltration of the paramilitaries, combined with a failure to arrest and convict many players, including agents, derived from a type of policing and security response which prioritised intelligence over evidence.

Indeed, evidence was squandered, or destroyed, presumably to protect intelligence channels.

De Silva, who exposed more of this than anyone else, concluded, 'that the intelligence-led security response to the Troubles did play a significant role in constraining all terrorist organisations, to the extent that they were forced to realise their aims were not achievable by violent means.

If that is so, it is a story that should be told.

http://www.herald.ie/news/courts/dad-of-...s-31277896.html

Dad of three shot in face on own doorstep as his daughter slept upstairs, court hears.

04 JUNE 2015 12:36 PM

A gunman lay in wait for a father-of-three and shot him in the face on his doorstep as his daughter slept upstairs, an inquest has heard.

Jason Carroll (39) died from gunshot wounds sustained in the attack at his home on Cherrywood Drive, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, on the evening of August 29, 2013.

The murder is believed to be part of a gangland feud.

His nephew Daniel Devoy told Dublin Coroner's Court that Carroll was a “family man who lived for his kids”. He said Carroll picked him and another man up after 8pm on the evening of his death. They drove to a garage in Ashbourne where Carroll got into another car for five to ten minutes. He did not say who he was meeting, just “one of the lads”, Mr Devoy said. They dropped the other passenger off and then went to Carroll’s mother’s house to collect a suitcase before going back to Cherrywood Drive. As Carroll walked up the driveway, shots rang out.

“I heard the bang - bang, bang, bang. After the first one, there were four or five bangs… I could see flashes but I could not see anyone”, Mr Devoy said.

A car then came up the road to pick up the gunman.

Mr Devoy said he did not know why his uncle was murdered and Carroll had not shown any concern about a threat to his life that evening.

Carroll’s partner Audrey Roche, her brother Harvey Roche and their mother were in the house. Ms Roche’s son was in the kitchen and the couple’s daughter was upstairs in bed. Mr Roche said the shots rang out and they saw blue flashes. “Audrey screamed 'get down',” he said. More shots were heard and then Carroll was heard saying “Audrey, it’s me, open the door”. Mr Roche opened the door and Carroll fell into the house. “He said ‘call an ambulance’… I don’t think he spoke at this point again,” he said.

Detective Garda Ronan Cowley said he arrived to find neighbours gathered at the house. There were “large” amounts of “fresh blood” on the doorstep and in the hallway, he said. When he went into the living room he saw Carroll on the ground with three men around him administering CPR. The dead man’s eyes were open and his breathing was weak, he said.

Paramedics arrived within minutes. Carroll was already in cardiac arrest, advanced paramedic Derek Fox told the court, and showing no signs of life. One of the shots was “into his left eye and exited his right cheek”, Mr Fox said. Carroll was taken to Tallaght Hospital where he was pronounced dead 40 minutes after being shot.

The post-mortem by state pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy found Carroll was shot once in the face and twice in the arm. The fatal injury was a bullet that passed through his arm and into his chest. The trajectory of all three were similar, shot from a distance and “likely” from a single gunman, she concluded.

Ms Roche said her partner had never said he was in fear for his life.

Detective Inspector Colm O’Malley said the investigation into Carroll’s death remains open. “The investigation suggests it was a targeted shooting, people were waiting for him to return home,” he said. The getaway car was found burnt out shortly after the incident and a weapon was recovered.

The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing by persons unknown.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/ira-court-trial-collapses-31276907.html

'IRA' court trial collapses
Judge acquits republicans of terror group membership after witnesses withdraw evidence and hit out at PPS.

BY JOHN CASSIDY – 04 JUNE 2015

The trial of two leading republicans accused of IRA membership has dramatically collapsed after the prosecution announced it was "offering no evidence'' against them.

The Belfast Telegraph exclusively revealed yesterday that the trial would collapse because the main witnesses have withdrawn their evidence and said they have no confidence in the criminal justice system.

Sean Gerard Hughes (52) and Padraic Conner Wilson (55) were the two most senior mainstream republicans to have been prosecuted for paramilitary offences here since the start of the peace process.

The charges relate to events in 2005 following the murder of Robert McCartney.

Neither Wilson, of Hamill Park, Andersonstown, west Belfast, or Hughes, of Aghadavoyle Road, Jonesborough, appeared in the dock of Belfast Crown Court for the brief hearing, although both were present in the court building.

Addressing Judge Stephen Fowler QC, Crown counsel Ciaran Murphy QC said: "In the Case of Wilson and Hughes, the prosecution will not be offering any evidence.''

Both men were immediately acquitted.

As well as IRA membership, the two had been charged with arranging meetings on behalf of the banned terror group.

They pleaded not guilty to a charge of belonging to a proscribed organisation between January 1, 2005 and March 31, 2005.

They also denied that on a date unknown between February 1, 2005 and March 7, 2005 in Belfast, they "addressed a meeting and the purpose of this address was to encourage support for a proscribed organisation, namely, the Irish Republican Army, or to further its activities''.

This related to a meeting in Clonard Monastery, west Belfast.

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The defendants had also pleaded not guilty to a similar charge of addressing a meeting at Holy Cross Church in Ardoyne on a date between February 25, 2005 and March 9, 2005.

No explanation was given to the court as to why the case would not be proceeding to trial.

However, one of the witnesses, due to give evidence against Wilson and Hughes, told the Belfast Telegraph that she had lost confidence in the criminal justice system.

Wilson's defence counsel Arthur Harvey QC said: "I would ask that the court direct that my client be acquitted.''

John McCrudden QC, for Sean Hughes, also asked the court to make a similar direction.

Judge Fowler QC told the court: "As the prosecution are not offering any evidence I direct the acquittal of both defendants.''

The judge added that a reporting restriction would remain in place until he had "time to reflect'' on a number of letters which had been handed into court.

These related to witnesses involved in the case who had "expressed concerns'' about their identities being revealed if the reporting restriction were lifted.

The arrest in 2012 of Wilson, a former IRA commander in the Maze prison, led to allegations of political policing by Sinn Fein. The party staged a protest outside PSNI headquarters in Knock in support of the west Belfast republican.

Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly (left) claimed Wilson's arrest had undermined republican confidence in the police and demanded his immediate release. Like Wilson, south Armagh man Hughes was another key supporter of the peace process.

One of the witnesses in the case has told the Belfast Telegraph that while the PSNI handled it well, the same could not be said for the Public Prosecution Service

"As a result of a previous trial, we entered this case with very little faith in the PPS," the witness said.

"What little faith we had disappeared as the case progressed.

"We believe that the wrong charges were brought against the defendants. We were also unhappy that a key independent witness to the alleged offences wasn't called to give evidence.

"We felt he either should have been called as a witness or else charged with withholding information. When we raised these issues with the PPS we weren't given any adequate explanations.

"We got a stock reply that it didn't 'meet the evidential test' but we weren't told why or how that was so. There was no proper consultation or feedback.

"The system clearly isn't working. To keep witnesses in the dark about how decisions are reached is outdated. There is no transparency nor accountability."

There is also a substantial reason - unrelated to the PPS - which led to the witnesses withdrawing their evidence, but that reason can't be disclosed because of the court order.

A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service said: "We have had a series of meetings with the principal witnesses in this case, including in the weeks leading up to this court date. One witness expressed concerns in relation to a decision not to prosecute in a related case and also the selection of charges in this case.

"We sought to address these concerns by outlining the rationale for the prosecution decisions, although we were restricted in what we could properly discuss with a witness in ongoing proceedings. This restriction was fully explained and an offer was made to provide more detailed reasons once the proceedings had concluded.

"In selecting the charges in this case we applied the test for prosecution to the available evidence. We are satisfied that the test for prosecution was met in respect of the offences charged, but not in respect of other offences to which consideration was given.

"This case was ready to proceed to full trial on June 8, 2015 and has not been subject to any undue delay in the preparation of the prosecution case. In these circumstances it is disappointing that the witnesses have withdrawn, but we respect their decision to do so.

"Now that the proceedings have concluded we are able to fulfil our commitment to the witnesses to provide further information, which we hope will meet their concerns."

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/cou...e-31286328.html

Alan Ryan's family slam lengthy garda murder probe as 'simply unacceptable.

GARDAI investigating the murder of dissident republican Alan Ryan expect to send a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) shortly, the Dublin coroner has heard.

The file into the death of Ryan (32) from Grange Abbey Drive in Donaghmede, Dublin 13, could be with the DPP within six weeks.
However, the solicitor representing his family at Dublin Coroner’s Court, David Thompson said it is “simply unacceptable” that it has taken gardaí so long to complete the file.
Ryan, who was a leading member of the Real IRA in Dublin and considered a significant crime figure, was gunned down on a north Dublin street in broad daylight on September 3, 2012. A gunman approached him from behind as he walked along Grange Lodge Avenue in Clongriffin with two friends, opened fire and shot him multiple times. His paramilitary-style funeral was interpreted as a show of force by the Real IRA, sparking major controversy. The father-of-one’s death is understood to have been part of an ongoing gangland feud.
The inquest into Ryan’s death was opened in October 2012 and Gardaí have sought several adjournments since then to facilitate their investigation. In February this year, they said it would take “at least” two more months before the file could be sent to the DPP and Mr Thompson told the coroner the delay was hampering the Ryan family’s right to a prompt inquiry into his death.
Updating coroner Dr Brian Farrell on the Garda progress today, Detective Inspector Ken Keelan said the position at the moment is that a file will be with the DPP "shortly". He sought a further six month adjournment of the inquest.
Mr Thompson requested a shorter adjournment saying the family is “extremely anxious” at this stage.
“My understanding is that this is arising from an arrest and detention that took place in October 2014 and the file has still not been prepared and sent to the DPP’s office almost eight months later. The family are extremely anxious at this point.
"An adjournment of six months will bring us far beyond three years since the death of Mr Ryan and it is simply unacceptable, while this inquest is held in abeyance until the director has concluded any considerations of that file, that they have to wait that long before the file is sent to the director’s office. I have written to the director and asked them to prioritise it but obviously they can do nothing until the file is received,” he said.
The dead man's brother Vincent Ryan was present in court.
DI Keelan said that, while he took Mr Thompson’s concerns “on board”, to give “the appropriate attention to get the file submitted” he would still be seeking a six-month adjournment.
Dr Farrell adjourned the hearing for further mention on October 5.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/cou...a-31317633.html

Criminal Assets Bureau uncovers payroll scam linked to dissident IRA

So-called 'republicans' are turning to white collar crime.

The Criminal Assets Bureau is investigating what it suspects is a massive payroll fraud operated for the benefit of dissident republicans that could cost the State millions in unpaid taxes.


The fraud was uncovered in recent months by detectives investigating dissident republican and organised crime groups which they believe are turning to ostensibly legitimate businesses to launder illicit funds.


A source close to the investigation said a businessman who has previous convictions for fraud is suspected of organising the scam, by setting up a network of front companies with bogus payrolls in order to claim employer incentives and tax breaks from the Revenue Commissioners.


A small number of people have been arrested, and the offices of "professional advisers" have been raided.


The informed source said the investigation is in its early stages, as it unravels the myriad of companies it suspects are linked to the tax scam.


The CAB is still counting the cost to the State of the enterprise, which the source said could "undoubtedly" run to millions.


Investigators uncovered the scam a number of months ago as part of a broader crackdown on money laundering by dissident IRA groups.


Detectives were trying to trace how these groups were laundering the proceeds of oil laundering and fuel smuggling, which have up to now been considered their main source of funding.


In the course of that, detectives identified a network of businesses fronted by legitimate business people with no known connection to dissident republicans or organised crime. They eventually linked the companies back to a businessman with a previous criminal record and past links to republicans.


"We are breaking down a system that they had in place. They were simply stealing funds that should have been returned to the Revenue," said the source. "They set up a wide web of companies to muddy the trail.


"If you take the length of time this scam has been operating, the money involved could run to millions. The loss is to the taxpayer ultimately."


Garda sources have described the dissident republicans' shift to white collar crime as "corporatisation" of the outfit.


Dissident groups have been looking for legitimate outlets to launder the estimated €40m turnover from international and cross-border smuggling and extortion. The traditional method of laundering is through cash enterprises such as security companies and pubs, that allow them to plough their illicit funds through the business.


However, a more common means of money laundering used by the one-time Real IRA has been to channel funds from its smuggling operations as business "loans" to a number of legitimate enterprises, sources said.


Forbes Israel published a terrorist rich list last year, which put the Real IRA in ninth place, with an annual turnover of €40m.


The magazine claimed that the Real IRA generated the massive income from smuggling tobacco and oil laundering, and other criminal enterprises. Forbes said its calculation was based on US State Department information and academic research.


A report by accountants Grant Thornton recently estimated that the State loses around €140m to €260m every year as a result of fuel fraud, while tobacco smuggling cost the Revenue €240m and more in unpaid taxes.


Police and tax authorities on both sides of the border have made concerted efforts to clamp down on fuel laundering operations around the border area. A number of fuel laundering operations have shut down, but the practice still persists.


Sunday Independent

http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/regiona...dents-1-6807196

PSNI challenged over costs of Twaddell and dissidents.


A loyalist community leader has asked why debate on the display of Union Flags takes up so much media time compared to scrutiny of the threat from dissident republicans.

Jim Wilson from east Belfast was speaking in the wake of dissident republicans targeting a police officer’s car in Londonderry.

“The flag issue pales into insignificance when you look at people trying to murder people in this community,” he said. He said there was a purely negative coverage of loyalist communities.





“The cost of policing an entirely peaceful and lawful protest at Twaddell is constantly being promoted in the media, but the cost of trying to stop threats of murder by dissident republicans is not. Why is that? When a drug dealer is caught on the Falls Road, the PSNI label him a drug dealer. But when he is caught on the Shankill Road the PSNI label him a loyalist drug dealer. Why is that?


“I have heard from plenty of people along the border who have to drive past IRA memorials to people that killed their loved ones every day. But their concerns are never covered in the media,” he added.

Chief Superintendent Nigel Grimshaw said the PSNI was “open to listening and discussing concerns” raised by communities and “will continue to engage with all communities to keep people safe”.

He added: “Police can supply figures for the cost of policing the Twaddell protest/ parade and associated security operation as this is a specific operation in a specific location. The cost of policing the dissident threat is not a specific operation, it is dealt with as part of everyday life within and throughout the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

“We have often been on record to say that the threat from dissident terrorist groups across Northern Ireland is regarded as severe and has been for some time. It is also a matter of public record that violent dissident republicans have on a number of occasions over the last 12 months sought to exploit the ongoing policing operation in connection with the Twaddell protest/parade for their own sinister and murderous intent.”

http://www.herald.ie/news/garda-alert-as...n-31374460.html

Garda alert as gang target who declared 'war' returns to city from Spain.

A criminal who declared "there's going to be war" after his pal was shot dead last month is back in the capital after spending over a fortnight in Spain's Costa-Del-Crime.

Jason 'Jay' O' Connor (37), who is considered the country's number one gangland target, survived two botched assassination attempts last month but is now back in his west Dublin bolt-hole.
Sources have revealed that the feared criminal is being constantly monitored by armed detectives amid fears that he may be targeted again, or his associates may go looking for revenge.
In the aftermath of an attempted assassination attempt on him last month, O'Connor reacted with a foul-mouthed tirade to a newspaper reporter.
"I'll tell you a story, there's going to be a f***ing war in Blanchardstown - they are f***ing dead, stone f***ing dead," he said. "They won't see the end of the week."
While O' Connor's shocking prediction has not yet happened, gardai are braced for more bloodshed in an ongoing feud, especially now that he is back in the country.
"This individual and his cronies are being watched very closely. The situation is still very serious," a source said.
O'Connor was previously in the headlines when he had his fingers chopped off with an axe in a horrific attack by Real IRA members under the direction of their boss Alan Ryan in May, 2013.
Torture
The former 'Westies' gang member, who is originally from Whitechapel Avenue, Clonsilla, had arrived at Dublin's Mater Hospital with two fingers missing from his right hand.
He had also suffered injuries to the back of his head consistent with a beating and torture.
One of the missing fingers was found in Fairview Park that evening and Gardai were alerted. Doctors later sewed the recovered finger back on to O'Connor's hand, but the second was not found.
Despite his injuries, O'Connor refused to identify his attackers, but detectives quickly established that Alan Ryan's mob were responsible.
Ryan was shot dead himself four months later, but O'Connor is not a suspect in that high-profile case.
O'Connor was also a suspect in the murder of a Lithuanian crime boss in 2013. Gintaras Zelvys was shot twice in the body with a handgun as he arrived with his wife to open up his 'cash for clothes' business in the Greenogue industrial estate, Rathcoole, west Dublin.
Detectives investigating the murder arrested O'Connor and two other Blanchardstown men in a special operation shortly after the murder but they were all later released without charge.
Sources say that associates of O'Connor are suspected of being linked to an attack which saw a former 'Westies' mobster being shot six times as he sat in a car in Hartstown in 2012, but there has never been an arrest in that case.
This feud has been ongoing for over a decade.

http://www.derryjournal.com/news/net-tightening-on-dissident-group-psni-1-6842746

Net ‘tightening’ on dissident group - PSNI.

Police say they are closing in on dissident republicans responsible for a series of shootings in Dungiven in recent years.

PSNI Superintendant John Magill was speaking as he confirmed police will replace the automatic number plate recognition camera that was cut down in the town in January (pictured above right), and which a group, known as ‘The North Derry Republican Group’, claimed responsibility for.

When asked about this group, Supt. Magill said: “We are keeping a close eye on a number of groups who have intent, let’s say, to destroy or damage ANPR cameras and that group [NDRG] is one of them.”

The North Derry Republican Group has also, in the past, claimed responsibility for shootings in the Dungiven area.

“The net is very tight around them and those matters are all under active investigation,” said Supt. Magill. “There are some very firm lines of enquiry and we are making very good progress.”

Supt. Magill said police were in the advanced stages of having the vandalised camera replaced.

“It’s an expensive piece of kit, costing tens of thousands of pounds, and is there for a very important reason. For example, when you look at the incident at the GAA premises last weekend, the benefits of that camera could not be realised because persons had cut it down. It’s unfortunate, but we are going to replace that camera,” He added: “It’s for everyone benefit that it goes up.”

Sinn Fein Colr. Sean McGlinchey said: “I’ve always welcomed the PSNI camera being there because it’s there to protect the public. I hope common sense prevails this time and those who cut it down before leave it be.”

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/19/police-bomb-trap-northern-ireland-armagh

Police lured to dissident republican double-bomb trap in Armagh
PSNI says officers called to reports of a bomb in Lurgan, Co Armagh, met by the detonation of a concealed second device ‘absolutely designed to kill.

Dissident republicans tried to kill police officers in a double-bomb trap in Northern Ireland, it was confirmed on Sunday.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said that a search team looking for an explosive device had a narrow escape after a second bomb exploded in Lurgan, County Armagh, around teatime on Saturday.

During the police search operation, officers also came under attack from youths throwing petrol bombs and bricks.

Suspicion has fallen on Continuity IRA, the most hardline of the dissident republican factions opposed to peace and power-sharing in Northern Ireland. CIRA has a small but active base in the North Armagh-Lurgan area.

PSNI Supt David Moore said the bomb that exploded was “significant and absolutely designed to kill”.

The security alert started on Saturday morning after a caller rang the Samaritans to claim a bomb had been left close to Victoria Street in Lurgan.

Supt Moore said this call was the start of an elaborate trap to kill his officers.

He added: “It is my belief that the phone call and the first device were designed to lure police into the area to be targeted by the second device.

“This was a clear and unequivocal murder attempt on the policemen and women who serve the community in Lurgan.”

As PSNI officers were evacuating homes in Victoria Street having found the first bomb, a second explosive device was detonated, he said.

Supt Moore added: “It is also disappointing that during this operation police officers were subjected to repeated attack with petrol bombs and bricks by a small and unrepresentative section of the community.”

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As a result of the security operation, the railway line between Belfast to Dublin was disrupted, with passengers having to be ferried between Lisburn and Newry before catching another train to the Irish capital.

Northern Ireland’s education minister and the Sinn Féin assembly representative for the area, John O’Dowd, condemned those responsible for this terror attack in his constituency.

“Those behind this alert are not representative of the people of Lurgan and should stop these pointless actions immediately,” he said.

The region’s justice minister, David Ford, said whoever was behind the attack “had a clear intention to kill police officers”.

“They showed absolutely no regard for local residents, who could have been killed or injured,” he said.

The SDLP, Alliance, the Ulster Unionists and Democratic Unionist party also condemned those who placed the two bombs in the Co Armagh town.

Continuity IRA has been active in North Armagh for almost two decades now and was responsible for killing the first ever PSNI officer to die at the hands of paramilitaries. In March 2009, a Continuity IRA gunman shot dead 48-year-old constable Stephen Carroll in nearby Craigavon.

The hardline republican faction has mounted several attacks on the security forces as well as frequently disrupting the Belfast to Dublin rail route with hoax bomb alerts. It is the least likely of the three main dissident republican groups to consider a ceasefire and is politically aligned to republican Sinn Féin.

http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/crime/im-costa-gang-boss-fat-6095161

I'm off to the Costa." Gang boss Fat Freddie will jet straight to Spain when he’s freed from jail.

The 34-year-old feels safer in the Med than in Ireland where he is constantly looking over this shoulder.

Gang boss Fat Freddie Thompson will head straight to Spain when he is freed from jail next month as it’s feared he’ll be murdered if he stays in Ireland.

The thug, who was handed a 20-month stretch for his part in a bar brawl sparked by “slagging”, is set to be released on August 8 from the Midlands Prison.

However, the 34-year-old might be out a day or two early by prison bosses so he can make his way safely to the airport before returning to his old stomping ground on the Costa del Sol.

A prison source said last night that apart from contraband porn being discovered in his cell, Thompson has kept himself out of trouble while behind bars.

The source added: “Thompson has kept his nose clean while locked up. He has been telling fellow prisoners he will not be hanging around Ireland when he’s released.

“There are too many people out for his blood as he has made a lot of enemies over the years.

“At least in Spain he knows he’s safe and doesn’t have to look over his shoulder like he would back home.”

It’s understood Thompson’s long-term girlfriend Vicky Dempsey will visit him once in Spain.

The pair have been together since they were teenagers and it’s thought they plan to finally tie the knot once the thug is released.

Fat Freddie's partner Vicky Dempsey partying in Tenerife
Vicky was seen wearing a large diamond ring in 2013 but it’s believed the lovebirds have waited until now to exchange vows.

This will be the first time the pair will have the opportunity to organise walking down the aisle as Thompson was on bail in Spain beforehand facing serious charges.

It was reported in 2013 that they had wed but it was never confirmed, leading many to believe it was put on hold.

The source added: “Vicky is extremely loyal and the pair are still very much in love.

“They have been there for each other over the years. It’s likely she will fly over to him once he has been released and returns to the Costa del Sol.”

Thompson, of Loreto Park in Maryland, Dublin, pleaded guilty last February with two others to violent disorder.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard he was a suspect after gardai viewed CCTV footage from Morrissey’s Pub in Cork Street.

Anthony Harte, 24, of Stephen’s Road in Inchicore, pleaded guilty to violent disorder and was given 220 hours community service and a third man, who wasn’t named, was recently acquitted.