This is the dramatic moment when almost 20 heavily armed gardai swooped on four members of a Dublin Motorcycle club an alleged firearms incident in Co Wexford.
The suspects – one aged in his 30s, two in their 40s and one 50s, who have close links to the Kinahan cartel – were arrested near Naas, Co Kildare, following a number of incidents yesterday morning in Co Wexford.
It is alleged that during one incident in the village of Clonroche, a man was threatened with a gun and chased by the bikers before he managed to escape.
After this it is alleged that the bikers, whose base is Crumlin in the capital, threatened a local businessman at his workplace and warned him not to associate with the man they had chased earlier.
“They warned him that they would be back if he continued to associate with the man they had targeted and they then took all the CCTV from the man’s business in Clonroche,” a senior source said.
The Herald can reveal that the man who had been chased and threatened with a firearm had fled from the mob after receiving death threats five years ago and had only just returned to Co Wexford.
Drugs
Before the Clonroche incidents, the bikrs were suspected of collecting “drugs cash” from someone in the Castlebridge area 24km away.
They then left Wexford in a car but a garda alert was sparked and four suspects were detained by the ERU and RSU in Co Kildare. However, no cash, drugs, CCTV tapes or firearms were recovered.
The suspects were being held at garda stations in Enniscorthy and Wexford last night.
“These are four significant arrests following separate calls about armed men at a private house and at a business,” the source added.
“There is a gap in time between these reports and when the men were arrested, so gardai are attempting to determine if there were firearms and where they are.
“One theory being explored is that another associate of the suspects travelled separately back to Dublin with the equipment and remained undetected.”
One of the men arrested has been described as the leader of the Dublin-based biker gang, whose headquarters was raided last year by gardai.
Last February, detectives seized three imitation firearms and a large number of swords in a raid on the club, whose members led the procession at a Kinahan gang funeral, in an operation also involving the ERU.
Sources said around 100 knives and swords were taken from the property along with three “realistic-looking” imitation firearms.
The Crumlin property is the headquarters of the club and has been described as a “compound” with a number of small buildings inside.
Gardai believe that the club is headed by a father and son, with six people at the core of the motorbike crew.
Motorcycle club’s name remains unrevealed.
Source: Herald.ie