Covert surveillance legislation would empower gardaí to break into the vehicles and homes of criminals to plant cameras and listening devices, writes
CONOR LALLY
THE MAIN line of investigation into the murder of Roy Collins is whether the killing is linked to the anonymous threatening letter sent to his father, Steve Collins, just before the dead man’s stepbrother Ryan Lee gave evidence against Wayne Dundon in 2005.
Since then Wayne Dundon has been jailed for his death threats to Ryan Lee. And other key members of the Dundon-McCarthy gang are also in prison for life for the 2003 murder of rival drug dealer Kieran Keane. Gardaí are now examining who organised Roy Collins’s killing and the focus will fall on those in prison.
In the past a number of gangland murders have been arranged by inmates using smuggled mobile phones. Dedicated search teams of prison officers were established to search jails for phones after armed robber John Daly rang Joe Duffy’s Liveline programme from a smuggled phone in Portlaoise maximum security prison three years ago.
Thousands of mobiles have been found but phones are still being brought into prisons.
Gardaí believe many are being concealed internally by inmates returning from periods of temporary release, who are pressured into the smuggling by other inmates. Some prison officers have also been investigated in the past for smuggling phones.
The Irish Times has learned that Limerick gangland figures effectively control three landings in Wheatfield Prison. They pressure other inmates to hold the phones in their cells so if found the Limerick criminals face no consequences.
Recently one prison officer had to be transferred because the Limerick criminals were threatening him to supply the address of a prisoner who had refused to store a phone and whose family the gang members wanted to attack as revenge.
Outside of the prison setting gardaí face a number of challenges in bringing prosecutions for gangland murders.
In many cases criminal gangs have killed a number of times and are now expert at it. They move in quickly, carry out a gun murder and flee in a stolen car that is then burned out afterwards. The gun and clothing worn during the attack is often burned in the car, destroying all forensic evidence.
The wearing of balaclavas nullifies any CCTV footage of the murder. When those responsible are arrested they refuse to answer Garda questions. Despite all of this some gangland murders have been solved, though the percentages are small. The success rate is highest in Limerick.
Killings beget a climate of fear and the murder of Roy Collins will only make that situation worse in Limerick.
People with information that could be vital to prosecutions are often too scared to give statements to gardaí. Because the witness protection programme requires witnesses to move overseas, its success has been very limited. Sometimes when witnesses agree to give statements to gardaí they resile from their statements after being threatened. This issue came to light after the collapse of the trial of Limerick criminal Liam Keane for the 2001 stabbing murder of 19-year-old Eric Leamy when a group of witnesses who initially incriminated Keane backed down from their statements.
New legislation was then introduced to enable gardaí rely on a statement in court even if a witness had since resiled from it. However, such statements must be corroborated by other stronger proof. This limits the success of the new legislation.
The Government is currently working on covert surveillance legislation that would effectively empower gardaí to break into the vehicles and homes of criminals and plant audio listening devices and small cameras.
The evidence gathered of criminals plotting offences or storing drugs and guns could be used to secure prosecutions. When Brian Lenihan left his previous post as minister for justice he cited the covert surveillance initiative as the highlight of his tenure.
But more than a year after Mr Lenihan left for finance, the new legislation is still not in place.
In light of the murder of Roy Collins, it would appear the Government’s response to organised crime is simply too slow.