The botched attempt to launch a pipe bomb from a drone in north Dublin at the weekend may be a first for Irish organised crime.
Gangs have long used pipe bombs against each other, however, especially in Dublin. Those involved in the drugs trade have also been very quick to embrace drone technology to deliver contraband into jails.
It was perhaps only a matter of time before somebody in the Irish underworld decided to combine a drone with a pipe bomb to see what level of havoc and fear they could cause.
Bomb-dropping drones have been used in Mexico, with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel deploying them over the last five years to attack their rivals and the security services. Nobody would, however, have expected Mexican-style narcoterrorism in Glenties housing estate in Finglas last weekend. The north Dublin suburb has seen a number of noted incidents of gang-related crime in recent years.
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The week before last, one gang leader from the area, Glen Ward (32), was sentenced to 5½ years in prison for firing a semi-automatic during a house party. Ward had been dubbed “Mr Flashy” by sections of the media and was leader of the Gucci Gang, so-called because of their love for designer clothes and accessories.
Ward was linked to a number of feuds in Finglas and Coolock, both in north Dublin, and previously had the support of the Kinahan cartel. He effectively ran a drug-dealing network in Finglas - also with a presence in other north Dublin suburbs - that proved very lucrative.
Ward has been a feared, powerful figure for years, and now that he is out of circulation for the foreseeable future, Garda sources said his absence had created “a degree of flux” or “movement” on the local scene. This dynamic has fed into a feud between two drug-dealing criminal factions in the area. One of the factions involved in the worsening feud was previously in dispute with Ward, and its activities included trying to murder him.
[ Finglas drone pipe bomb incident raises concerns of serious feud escalationOpens in new window ]
In recent weeks there has been a number of serious incidents as the temperature of the feud has dialled up, including shooting and arson attacks. The effort to use a drone to launch a pipe bomb at a house in the early hours of Monday forms part of the feud.
“It’s definitely a serious escalation and we’ve never seen something like this before,” said one Garda source. “With this [feud] you’ve got young fellas involved and older guys in their 40s. A lot of these people have already been through the mill in other feuds, so it wouldn’t be a big step for them to really ramp this up now.”
Other Garda sources said it was impossible to predict whether there would be more drone attacks or whether the weekend incident would prove a once-off. They were, however, concerned the Garda had no ability to control a drone midflight, even if officers suspected it was carrying an explosive device or delivering a gun to be used in an attack.
That is a worry for the force, especially given the rate at which drones are being used by some organised crime elements. Just last week, the Prison Officers’ Association said drugs, mobile phones, knives and other contraband were being stuffed into footballs and flown by drone onto prison campuses. They said there had been 110 such flights in the first three months of this year and believe each batch of contraband was valued at between €50,000 and €60,000.
There is no question that, having become adept at delivering large parcels of drugs into jails, organised crime gangs could very easily switch that skill to Mexican-style bomb-dropping via drones. There has always been a ready availability of pipe bombs in gangland. Some are constructed and sold to gangs by former paramilitaries, while others are fashioned, DIY-style, from instructions available online.
