Watch: The moment Limerick criminal Ger Dundon was caught in UK blackmail plot

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Watch: The moment Limerick criminal Ger Dundon was caught in UK blackmail plot© Provided by Irish Examiner

Limerick criminal Ger Dundon has been jailed for 10 years in the UK for his role in a plot to blackmail two brothers.

Dundon, who has changed his name to Darren McLean by deed poll, was sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court in London after what Staffordshire Police said was an “extensive investigation”.

Dundon, 38, who has an address in Hackney in London, was also given a further five years in prison for other offences.

Judge John Dodd described him during the sentencing hearing as “a committed career criminal” and a “gangland enforcer” who was prepared to use violence to achieve his aims.

Judge Dodd also said he must serve at least half the 15-year term before applying for parole.

Dundon is a member of the notorious McCarthy-Dundon crime gang in Limerick which was involved in a murderous feud with the Keane-Collopy gang. 

He has more than 100 convictions and went to the UK after leaving prison in Ireland in 2018.watch video here

Dundon’s sentencing follows his conviction in January on two charges of conspiracy to blackmail and one count of conspiracy to falsely imprison, relating to an incident involving two brothers from Stoke-on-Trent.

Evidence was heard during the case that the two brothers travelled to London in July 2020

A statement from Staffordshire Police said: “They were subjected to blackmail threats, and in the days that followed, mobile phones were used to demand large sums of money, over £300,000, to secure the release of one of the brothers. 

“These demand calls continued for the next few days until on July 16, armed police stopped a yellow transit van leaving a Travellers’ site in Cambridgeshire.

“As officers approached the van, driver Darren McLean caused deliberate damage to a mobile phone he was carrying, which was later identified as being one of the phones used to make threats and demands. 

“The victim, who McLean claimed was a friend, was found inside the rear compartment, lying on a mattress. 

He reported being threatened with violence and racially abused.” 

The men were given sleeping tablets and made to wash with Dettol spray during the ordeal.

Threats were made to the two men that they would be shot in the head, with “their brains all over the road”.

Describing the incident as a terrifying experience for the brothers, deputy senior investigating officer Detective Sergeant Garry Jackson said: “It also had a profound impact on their family members and friends”.

He said the investigation was “incredibly complex”, involving a number of police forces including the Metropolitan Police and Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

He added: “We’re pleased that McLean will now be serving a substantial sentence which reflects the seriousness of this disturbing crime.” 

He was one of six people arrested and subsequently charged as part of the investigation. However, he was the only one to be convicted.