MAFIA CRACKDOWN | 

Handgun seized in garda operation targeting Albanian mafia in west Dublin

One of the arrested men is closely linked to another Albanian gangster who was recently jailed for a serious assault which occurred at another industrial estate in west Dublin.

Yesterday at 20:30

Gardaí in west Dublin have seized a handgun and arrested two men as part of an investigation into the Albanian mafia operating in the capital.

The operation happened at the Rosemount Business Park in the Blanchardstown area earlier today and involved officers from Finglas and Blanchardstown stations who were acting on “key intelligence” according to sources.

It is understood that the suspects in custody are aged in their 20s and 40s and the weapon that was seized is a nine mm pistol.

One of the arrested men is closely linked to another Albanian gangster who was recently jailed for a serious assault which occurred at another industrial estate in west Dublin.

The jailed individual previously provided “security” for a well-known Dublin sports star.

The area remained sealed off this evening and follow-up searches were taking place at a number of locations in the capital.

“Organised crime figures from Albania are having a growing influence on the crime scene in Ireland”, a source said.

“This particular crime organisation has influences in west Dublin and the Crumlin areas of the city,” they added.

Today’s handgun seizure is the third significant firearms seizure in west Dublin in the space of a just a week and senior sources say that there are no links to any of the three different seizures.

Last Friday, gardaí seized an AK-47 in a building at the back of a property in Finglas along with cannabis valued at €12,000.

The search operation was carried out by the District Drugs Unit in Finglas acting on intelligence with assistance from a number of local units.

It is understood that the weapon and drugs were controlled by a local gang but there have been no arrests so far in the case.

There has also been no detentions in relation to a search operation in which gardaí found three weapons and drugs valued at €177,000 on waste ground in Finglas.

The guns — including a Scorpion machine pistol with magazine clip, ammunition and silencer, a SIG Sauer pistol with ammunition and a RAK 63 machine pistol and magazine clip — were discovered at vacant waste land in the area.

Suspected cocaine with an estimated value of approximately €92,000 and suspected cannabis with an estimated value of approximately €85,000 was also found in the search carried out on the waste ground in Finglas last Monday.

A source said there is no indication that the two hauls are linked to the same gang. While gardaí are understood to be following a specific line of inquiry in relation to the AK-47 seizure, they are still trying to determine who had stored the three weapons on the Finglas waste ground.

Gardaí have become increasingly concerned about the activities of Albanian crime gangs in Ireland.

In December 2019, a senior member of an Albanian crime gang, whose crew are suspected of being heavily involved in people and drugs trafficking, were the target of raids by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).

Two high-end cars were seized and €22,000 in cash and an expensive Swiss watch were also taken by the CAB during five searches in Dublin and Wicklow.

In May 2017, it was revealed that specialist gardaí were conducting a number of top secret operations against the Albanian mafia in the capital which led to almost €1m worth of cannabis herb being seized in the space of a fortnight.

Albanian gangsters have been laundering their cash through chippers and car wash businesses across the capital and are heavily involved in the “security” business.