ANALYSIS:Fatal shootings are at record levels , writes Conor Lally, Crime Correspondent
OVER THE past two years the drugs trade has been decimated by the recession, yet the number of people being shot dead on our streets has remained at record levels. This suggests that a gun culture is emerging across the Republic that increasingly exists independently of drug dealing.
Gang feuds in Dublin and Limerick that began as drugs turf wars have now morphed into gun wars driven by personal hatred.
Most participants have forgotten why the fighting started, so intent are they on shooting their rivals simply for the sake of it.
Drug seizures halved last year to €40 million. The number of people being detected in possession of drugs has been falling for over two years, yet there has been no decline in gun murders.
One Garda source said: “Just a few years ago there would have been a ‘pay element’ to the murders; when you dug deep enough you would have found a row over drug money. That’s less so now.”
It appears the double murder of Glen Murphy and Mark Noonan does not have a serious drugs motive, although the Garda investigation is still at an early stage.
Even when drug dealers are found to be behind a fatal shooting, they are increasingly killing people over minor and personal matters that have nothing at all to do with organised crime.
Gardaí say gangs are under unprecedented financial pressure and as a result may well be more inclined to kill over minor matters.
Many gangs invested in property which is now in negative equity or lent money to legitimate businesses that cannot pay back the debts.
According to one source: “They have less money to buy large quantities of drugs and lots of the young people who were taking drugs, especially cocaine, don’t have the money any more, so lots of gangs are in serious trouble.”