Gardaí believe they prevented a gangland murder within the Kinahan network in Dublin when they arrested three men and seized a gun over the weekend.
The three suspects, two from Dublin and one from Wexford, were arrested when Garda teams moved in on them at about 3.30pm on Saturday in north Dublin.
The three men were travelling in two cars and when one of the drivers did not stop his vehicle, he was forced to a halt by an emergency response unit vehicle.
The operation occurred in Artane, Dublin 5, and gardaí believe they foiled a murder attempt linked to the killing earlier this year of Dublin drug dealer Seán Little.
The 22-year-old was shot dead in May on a road near Walshetown, north Co Dublin, just off the M1. His body was found beside his car, which had been set on fire.
Little was from Kilmore, north Dublin, and was closely associated with a gang of young criminals in Finglas that is aligned to the Kinahan cartel.
Friends
Little was one of three men, who were all friends, to be shot dead in the space of a week in Dublin in May.
Jordan Davis (22) was killed in a gun attack close to his home in Darndale, north Dublin. Hamid Sanambar (41) was shot dead days later. The Iranian gangland figure was gunned down outside the Little family home on Kilbarron Avenue, Kilmore West, where he was about to call to pay his respects.
Garda sources told The Irish Times a number of Little’s associates believe members of the Finglas-based drugs gang were responsible for his murder.
Intelligence gathered by gardaí has suggested Little’s associates have been planning for months to retaliate to his murder.
Acting on some of that information, gardaí from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and security and intelligence section put in place an operation on Saturday in Artane that resulted in the arrests of the three suspects.
A firearm was also found and gardaí believe it was to be used in a gun attack intended to kill one of the members of the Finglas-based drugs gang linked to the Kinahan cartel.
The intended target is in his 20s and is very close to the young criminal who leads the Finglas-based faction.
Thwarted murder attempt
Sources said Saturday’s thwarted murder attempt effectively represents the latest in a worsening internal gun feud within the network of criminals from Dublin’s northside all linked to the Kinahan cartel.
These factions, based mainly in the Finglas and Coolock areas, are separate to the gang from Crumlin across the city which effectively acts as the Dublin-based unit of the Kinahan cartel.
The three men arrested on Saturday are in their 20s, 40s and 50s. They were detained under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and were still being questioned on Sunday night.
Det Chief Supt Angela Willis, head of the bureau, said her unit was focused on taking guns off the streets.
“The seizure of firearms and the arrest of those who are prepared to use them to take life is a priority for the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau,” she said.
Saved a life
Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll of Special Crime Operations believed the operation had saved a life on Saturday.
"I have no doubt that this operation has prevented a firearm being used to take life and enabled the Garda Síochána to keep people safe," he said.
The arrested men can be questioned without charge for up to three days, at which point they must be charged with an offence or released without charge.
