Specialist Garda units leading the fight against organised crime are today beginning a major new push against drug gangs which Garda sources said would be the most intense operation since the murder of Veronica Guerin.
Armed patrols by leading units, including the Emergency Response Unit (ERU), are to be increased around prominent Dublin gangland figures in an attempt to end the cycle of gun violence in the city which has seen three men shot dead since Tuesday.
The move comes in the wake of an admission yesterday by Garda headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin, that senior management in the force have viewed the events of the past week with "considerable concern".
A statement issued by headquarters stated: "The activities of those involved in organised crime, particularly in the greater Dublin area is of considerable concern to the Garda Síochána."
The decision to release the statement setting out the Garda's response to the latest violence is unusual.
Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has been briefed at length this week by Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy on the progress of the investigations into the recent murders.
Mr Conroy has drawn up plans for the new intense campaign. These include the immediate deployment of an additional 20 members to the Organised Crime Unit, bringing the numbers to 70.
These will work closely with the Garda National Drugs Unit, Special Detective Unit and National Bureau of Criminal Investigation in monitoring a list of target criminals known for their involvement in the drugs trade and gun crime.
Additional resources are being made available to the Special Detective Unit and ERU to enable them to increase armed patrols and checkpoints manned by armed officers in flashpoint suburbs across the city, including Finglas and the north inner city where the latest shootings have taken place. Other areas include Drimnagh, Crumlin, Coolock, Blanchardstown and Mulhuddart.
Gardaí have insisted that Operation Anvil, established 18 months ago to tackle armed gangs, will not be diminished pointing out that it has enjoyed considerable success to date.
A major spin-off investigation, Operation Oak, which had been targeting the activities of Martin "Marlo" Hyland (39), the leading drug dealer shot dead in Finglas on Tuesday, is also being intensified.
Some 24 people targeted under Operation Oak are now before the courts, 23 of them having been released on bail.
The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, described the recent murders as "a terrible reminder of a culture of violence that is beginning to devastate areas of our city".
"Human life is sacred. Those who disregard human life must face the judgment of God. If those who carry out such violence or those who mandate them have any conscience, let them remember that, whatever else, God's judgment is something they will never evade," he said.
In a strongly worded statement he added he regularly heard stories from priests about how the drugs trade linked to much of the recent violence was destroying lives every day. There could be no tolerance for drugs, he said.
"Those who might seek to characterise, however naively, their use of illegal drugs as being 'recreational' cannot be allowed to blind themselves to the terrible consequences of this 'trade in death' they are supporting."
