Ireland’s “number one” criminal gang has been targeted in a major operation by Garda drug and intelligence units.
The ongoing operation against the gang — known as The Family — escalated to a full-on armed intervention on Tuesday night when intelligence came through that killers for the group were on their way to carry out a hit against a rival gang.
A tactical team from the elite Emergency Response Unit carried out a forced stop on a vehicle in the Clondalkin area of west Dublin.
They managed to arrest the two individuals inside and seize a loaded firearm.
The operation was led by the Garda Drug and Organised Crime Bureau and Garda Crime and Security, including its secretive surveillance team.
Timed with the intervention were a total of 20 searches, 18 across Dublin and two searches in separate cells in Portlaoise Prison, which is Ireland’s only high-security jail.
One of the cells searched is of a convicted killer.
A substantial amount of evidence, including digital devices, were taken away and forensic examination will be conducted on them.
Gardaí suspect the two-man hit team were on their way to kill a target in the Tallaght area of southwest Dublin.
The Family is not only one of Ireland longest-running drug trafficking gangs but has also recently been publicly identified by gardaí as being the biggest drug gang in the country and their “number one” target.
It is led by a number of brothers from the north Clondalkin area. They live locally or in neighbouring Ballyfermot. They have extensive connections with gangs and cartels across the world.
The Family has dominated the heroin trade into Ireland for decades and continue to do so, but in recent years, particularly during and after the Kinahan-Hutch feud, they took over a huge slice of the lucrative cocaine trade.
While they, in the past, had associations with the Kinahan cartel, long-time investigators point out that they have always acted independently.
They have operated an extensive money laundering service for decades and they have also been repeatedly hit by the Criminal Assets Bureau.
But the leaders have escaped prosecution and conviction for a long number of years.
The attempted hit is believed to be part of a long-running feud between The Family and a drug-trafficking outfit in west Dublin, centred around the Tallaght area.
This protracted feud, which is thought to also involve substantial drug debts, has previously seen at least one murder.
Garda HQ issued a lengthy statement on the operation.
“An Garda Síochána are satisfied that an imminent threat to life attack was prevented in West Dublin on Tuesday evening, 17th December 2024,” it said.
“Gardaí from the Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), units attached to the Garda National Crime & Security Intelligence Service (GNCSIS) and regular unit members from the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) conducted an operation as part of an intelligence-led investigation in the DMR.”
It said that shortly after 8pm was Tuesday, a vehicle was intercepted by a tactical team from the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) on Rowlagh Avenue in Clondalkin, Dublin 22.
“A subsequent search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of a semi-automatic Glock pistol along with a number of rounds of 9mm ammunition.”
Two men, aged in their 30s and 40s, were arrested at the scene under Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. They are currently being detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 at a garda station in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.
More than 300 gardaí were deployed in the course of the operation.
Head of Organised & Serious Crime assistant commissioner Angela Willis said gardaí believed the firearm “was intended for use in the commission of murder(s)”.
“The intervention by members of An Garda Síochána in West Dublin on the evening of 17 December 2024 has again resulted in the removal of a lethal firearm and ammunition from circulation,” she said.
“An Garda Síochána believes the firearm was intended for use in the commission of murder(s). I wish to acknowledge the members of An Garda Síochána involved in the operation for their professionalism in bringing this operation to a successful conclusion.
“An Garda Síochána will continue to prioritise targeting those that are the most violent and cause the most harm in communities.”
In a statement, the Irish Prison Service said: “The Irish Prison Service does not comment on individual prisoners or specific operational or security matters.
“The Irish Prison Service continues to have high level engagement and the sharing of intelligence with An Garda Síochána on a regular basis which is resulting in the seizure of contraband, arrests and significant disruption to organised crime involved in smuggling contraband into Irish Prisons.”
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