The ‘skinny Dub’ leading Europe’s war on drug gangs
35 years. If you look at the feud in it’s entirety, it’s a challenge to the guards,’ he added. ‘But will they end it? Absolutely.
‘There were two errors made at the start of this feud, one group shot another group, that’s a feud in itself but the knock-on effect is that the guards have been given the resources to tackle them.
‘If you look at the Veronica Guerin murder the guards were given the resources and it takes time but it builds up steam and the collateral damage done to the various organised crime groups and individuals is huge. This feud is incredibly intense but the bottom line is that the guards have had success.’
Indeed O’Sullivan has always professed to have great faith in the work of the guards, despite the ongoing issues with drugs and hits.
‘If we were to step back from what we do there would be a lot more drugs around, a lot more criminals and the younger society coming up would have a lot more access to drugs,’ he said.
‘Our aim is to dismantle and destablise organised crime and we are very good at it. If you look back at it, no criminal group has stood the test of time in Ireland.’
Many believe some of this success was due to O’Sullivan, who reacted extremely well during a crisis.
‘He was the one who kept a lid on things when the shootings happened at The Regency Hotel,’ says our crime source of the shooting dead of David Byrne at a boxing event at the north Dublin hotel in February 2016.
‘The guards were effectively caught with their pants down, it was a hugely embarrassing time for them and then three or four other shootings happened in quick succession.
‘But Michael was a very steadying hand at that time, he has a way about him and came across as very competent, he helped to calm things down hugely.’
Through his time in Ireland and his international work, O’Sullivan has developed strong views on legalising ‘soft drugs’, such as marijuana.
‘No, it should not be legalised, I’ve worked all over the world and