A massive Garda operation this week targeting organised crime has struck “a major blow” to gangland Ireland, a senior Garda source said last night.
Details of Operation Wireless III were revealed by the force yesterday. Some 419 searches were simultaneously carried out across the Republic on Tuesday and 89 individuals were arrested.
Drug paraphernalia
In one case, gardaí from the drugs unit in Tallaght raided a house at Cushlawn Park, Tallaght, at approximately 10.45pm. Detectives seized 5.5kg of cocaine with an estimated street value of €385,000.
A large amount of cash and assorted drug paraphernalia were also recovered. A 34-year-old man was arrested and is being held.
The operation was a nationwide intelligence-led targeting of criminal organisations and gangs throughout every division and district of the country. It was coordinated by the Garda National Support Services under the direction of Assistant Commissioner Derek Byrne.
The raids were the culmination of a year’s work for the Garda during which time a “holistic” approach was adopted by investigators, who carried out intensive background checks before nominating targets and forming a national operation plan.
'Highest level'
Gardaí involved in the operation collaborated with all of the country's divisional regional crime teams. In some cases, up to 100 gardaí were involved in a single raid.
The source said the individuals arrested “covered a very wide spectrum” of criminals, including some from “the very highest level”.
“There wouldn’t be any household names but these are the people who are engaged in criminal activity day in day out,” he said.
“They are people who are involved in serious crimes, laundering serious money. They are the bedrock of criminality.”
He said it was important for the Garda to strike all its targets simultaneously, because despite tensions between gangs, links between them exist.
“It’s a major blow to organised crime. It’s not a knockout blow but it’s a major blow. It’s disrupting their networks.
“Hitting them all simultaneously is important. Even though there are a lot of different gangs around the country, they all have tentative connections with each other. So it’s a case of hit them all at the same time.”
Five European arrest warrants were executed by the Organised Crime Unit and gardaí from the Extradition Section at Garda Headquarters.
These related to offences ranging from assault, robbery, extortion, fraud and drugs offences.
These individuals are all Polish nationals who were “high up” in the criminal pecking order in their own country, and were involved in “very serious crimes” there, according to the source. They are all due to appear before the High Court.
Firearms offences
The 89 arrests were for a range of offences, including robbery, burglary, theft, handling stolen property, possession of drugs and firearms offences.
In excess of 20 people were arrested on foot of bench warrants. The searches related to stolen property, drugs, firearms and other types of evidence relevant to ongoing criminal investigations across the country.
A search was also carried out of a yard in the Balbriggan area in Dublin. This resulted in parts for up to eight stolen vehicles being recovered. These investigations are ongoing and no arrests have been made to date.
