Gardai foil suspected gangland assassination in city
GARDAI believe they prevented an attempted gangland assassination in Dublin yesterday after arresting two men and seizing a loaded gun.
The men, one aged in his late 20s and the other in his early 30s, were travelling in the north inner city area when they were stopped by gardai who had been watching them.
Both men are said to be known to gardai as members of warring factions involved in the Hutch-Kinahan feud.
The intended target re- mains unclear but gardai said they felt they had to act quickly because a violent attack was imminent.
The men were stopped in the East Wall area at approximately 4.30pm yesterday.
One of them was carrying a loaded revolver and ammunition.
One of the men was travelling in a car while the other was making his way through the area on a motorbike.
Officers from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau had been watching the men before stopping them as part of an intelligence-led operation by detectives based in the north inner city.
They were assisted by members of the Special Crime Task Force and Crime and Security specialist units.
A garda spokesperson last night confirmed the operation was part of a series targeting organised crime and gangland hits in Dublin’s north inner city.
A series of follow up searches took place in the capital last night.
It is believed the men were on there way to a well-known Hutch location in the city.
They were arrested and detained under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.
Both men were brought to different stations in the north inner city area and remained in custody last night for questioning.
A garda spokesman last night said investigations remain ongoing but a source said officers were confident it was a failed assassination attempt on a member of a rival gang.
“It looks like (an assassination attempt). They were travelling when gardai stopped them and one of them was carrying a loaded gun,” the source said.
It was just the latest incident in a long line of botched murder attempts between the two warring factions.
On March 15 gardai foiled a suspected Kinahan assassination plan on a member of the Hutch family when officers swooped moments before it was due to be carried out.
On that occasion two men were arrested in Enniscorthy as part of an intelligence-led operation supported by members of the elite Armed Response Unit.
A member of the Hutch family was the suspected intended target and gardai seized three cars, two firearms and a quantity of ammunition.
That raid came less than a week after four more arrests when gardai seized a sub-machine gun, a semi-automatic pistol and a revolver after intercepting a van on Gardiner street in Dublin’s city centre.