Gardai have recovered a large amount of suspected cocaine during planned raids on properties in the stronghold of the Dundon McCarthy crime gang, who it is feared have enlisted the assistance of UK gang members to sell drugs out of Limerick.
Dozens of armed Gardaí attached to the Armed Support Unit (ASU) as well as the Limerick Divisional Drugs Unit swarmed on a number of properties in the Hyde Road and Ballinacurra Weston areas on Wednesday morning.
As well as the large drugs haul, Gardaí also recovered a cocaine press machine during yesterday’s raids on the south side of Limerick City.
The Dundon McCarthy gang once reigned as the most feared criminal network in Ireland until the emergence of Dublin’s Kinahan crime group, which has spread its tentacles across the world.
Many senior members of the Dundon mob were put behind bars and are serving life for a number of different murders.
A number of former members and associates of the gang gave evidence against the leaders of the gang which in turn led to Gardai breaking up the Dundon network.
With the gang broken up other local drugs dealers moved into the Dundon’s turf on the south side.
However, it is believed a young associate of the Dundon mob has enlisted the assistance of Yardie gangsters who have roots in Jamaica but are mostly based across the UK.
According to a local source, this group has been “throwing their weight around” and are again “trying to take over the drugs business” on the southside.
“They have been calling to drug dealers and telling them to knock it on the head,” they added.
Gardaí did not initially offer a statement on the raids, however when asked for comment, a Garda spokeswoman replied: “Gardaí attached to the Roxboro Road Crime Office conducted a number of searches at several properties on Hyde Road and Lenihan Avenue, Prospect, Limerick on Wednesday 16th February, 2023.”
“During the course of the searches a cocaine press was seized and a large quantity of white powder which will now be subject to analysis by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI).”
Their “investigations are ongoing”, she added.
The Dundon’s links with the UK are long-established. A number of the senior members of the Dundon gang were born in England but quickly established a base in the Hyde Road, Ballinacurrra Weston area of Limerick.
The gang made the area its stronghold in the 2000s and ruled neighbourhoods with threats and murder.
The Dundons along with the McCarthy Ryan’s were involved in a decade long feud with the rival Keane and Collopy drug gangs.
Video footage of a large contingent of armed and masked Gardaí carrying out Wednesday’s raids in Limerick was widely shared across social media platforms.
