Commissioner hails progress in fight against gangland crime

Detectives have seized 21 firearms since a notorious heroin dealer and his driver were murdered three weeks ago, Garda Commissioner…

Detectives have seized 21 firearms since a notorious heroin dealer and his driver were murdered three weeks ago, Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said today.

Eight of the weapons recovered in the operations against gangland criminals in the wake of the killing of Michael ‘Roly’ Cronin and associate James Maloney were handguns.

Commissioner Murphy insisted the weapons finds demonstrated that gardaí were having success in their fight against surging gun violence.

“I have no doubt everybody has a concern, and I have a concern, in relation to the high-profile shootings that have taken place already this year,” he said.

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“But in the last couple of weeks since two people were killed in Summerhill in Dublin, 21 firearms have been seized by my people.

“Those deadly weapons, eight of them handguns, have been taken off the streets.” The Commissioner, speaking at opening of a new Garda station and divisional headquarters at Ballymun, north Dublin, was seeking to reassure the public after four murders on Irish streets in the first three weeks of the new year.

Cronin was shot dead in a car on January 7th and his driver, James Maloney, died in hospital two days later from the gun attack.

Stephen O’Halloran, from Tallaght, south Dublin, was shot dead last Monday in what detectives believe was a pre-emptive strike by a drugs gang to prevent him moving into the trade.

Less than 24 hours afterwards, known gangland figure Graham McNally, 34, was lured to his death on the old Ashbourne Road, outside north Dublin.

But despite the surge in violent gun crime, Commissioner Murphy praised his rank and file for taking the fight to the gangland figures.

“My people are out there taking on the criminals, those group of people who put fear into the community and who want to go around shooting each other and taking each other out, be it for the recovery of small debts or built-in aggression,” he said.

“We will face them down. We are doing it day in, day out and I’m looking forward in the near future to many successes in relation to the crimes that have already taken place.”

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern, also attending the opening where a new community policing model was launched, insisted more Garda stations will be opened despite the current public funding crisis.

PA