Gardaí shocked by arrest of ex-officer in gang investigation
GARDAÍ have reacted with shock, anger and bewilderment to news that a retired senior officer has been arrested on suspicion of passing on sensitive information to a major drugs gang.
The former senior officer, who was with the force for over 30 years, is being questioned at Irishtown Garda station in Dublin in connection with an investigation into organised crime in the capital’s north city.
The Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) carried out five searches at properties in Dublin on Wednesday, which resulted in the seizure of around €600,000 in cannabis and €47,000 in cash.
The ex-garda was arrested on suspicion of ‘enhancing the ability of a criminal organisation to commit or facilitate a serious offence’.
It is understood that the senior garda was well-known across the force and the jusinvolvement tice system. According to RTÉ, he had managerial control, not just in Dublin, but also in other parts of the country.
Gardaí in the force are said to be shocked by the arrest and now fear reputational damage, given his senior position within the force and the large quantity of drugs seized as part of the investigation.
The retired garda was arrested on suspicion of in offences contrary to the provisions of section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006, relating to alleged enhancing the ability of a criminal organisation to commit or facilitate a serious offence.
He is being detained at Irishtown Garda station, under section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007.
In a statement this week, gardaí said personnel attached to the GNBCI took part in the operation. In the course of this operation, five searches were conducted in Dublin.
Gardaí said these searches resulted in 30kgs of cannabis herb with an estimated street value of €600,000 and €47,000 in cash being located and seized.
The news comes as several gardaí are under ‘disciplinary investigation’ for cancelling urgent 999 calls without permission. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said that he was ‘shocked’ by the practice. Previously, gardaí assured the public they were working to resolve issues around the cancellation of thousands of calls between 2019 and 2020, many of which related to domestic violence.
It has now emerged another 53 emergency calls were cancelled in the last ten months without a Garda response, even after previous improper cancellations had been highlighted publicly, the Policing Authority has been told.
Commissioner Harris told a Policing Authority meeting that even though the number was relatively small, he ‘wished he had an insight’ into the motivations of those involved. ‘In truth I don’t, I really don’t understand it,’ he said. ‘None of this has any benefit to them, yet it has exposed all of them to the peril of inquiry.’
Nearly all of the calls were from people dialling 999 to report that a burglar alarm had gone off.
Authority chairman Bob Collins told the meeting that it was a ‘striking and bizarre development’.
‘Shocked’ by the practice