Biker gang premises raided in Dublin after gardaí intercept car near Naas

Search operation follows the arrest of four men on Thursday

Gardaí have raided a premises linked to a group of bikers based in Dublin as some members of the group are suspected of involvement in organised crime in the city.

At least four of the men are believed to have threatened two men in Wexford on Thursday, during which a gun or replica gun was produced.

Premises used by the club in Crumlin were searched on Friday by a large team of detectives and members of the heavily armed Emergency Response Unit (ERU).

The search operation follows the arrest of four men on Thursday on suspicion they travelled to Co Wexford to threaten a number of people earlier in the day.

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In one incident, four men went into a garage in the Clonroche area armed with what witnesses described as a handgun and threatened staff members, with two men based in the area the apparent targets of the group.

The men then left the scene in a silver Hyundai car and, while no shots were fired and no injuries were reported, the incident was reported to gardaí and a search operation began.

The same vehicle was later observed by gardaí on the M9 motorway and it was eventually intercepted by members of the ERU on the M7 near Naas, Co Kildare.

The four suspects, whose car was rammed by gardaí, were arrested at the scene. The men, aged between 30 and 60, were detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act at Garda stations in Wexford.

They were still being questioned on Friday evening after a follow-up operation began at premises linked to the arrested men in Crumlin.

The search was continuing on Friday night and a quantity of cash had been found.

Members of the same biker group led the cortege during the funeral of David Byrne, the Crumlin man who was shot dead in the 2016 shooting at the Regency Hotel, north Dublin, as part of the Kinahan-Hutch feud.

In the past swords, knives and replica guns along with small quantities of cash and drugs have been found at a premises linked to the same group of bikers.

Gardaí believe some members of the group are close to the Byrne organised crime group; the Dublin-based gang that is effectively the Irish unit of the wider international Kinahan crime cartel.

Some members of the group are suspected of carrying out debt collection on behalf of criminals involved in organised crime, often using threats and violence to extort money from their victims.

Conor Lally

Conor Lally

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times