cash demands | 

Dublin drug gang The Family trying to extort €20,000 a month from innocent family

Gang members claim they are owed a six-figure sum

Today at 10:30

One of Ireland’s most active drug-dealing gangs is trying to extort €20,000 a month from an innocent family.

Gang members claim they are owed a six-figure sum by a relative.

The young man at the centre of the cash demands has fallen foul of the west Dublin gang nicknamed The Family.

He recently had to be moved to Mountjoy Prison, where he is on remand, from another prison because of the threat level against him.

The gang operates one of the country’s biggest drug-dealing networks and is suspected of making millions of euro from trafficking heroin and cocaine.

It is understood the gang members blame the man for botching the alleged abduction and torture of a person accused of stealing a large amount of heroin from them

It is making cash demands of €5,000 a week from the man’s family, who have no means of paying the money.

/

2:13

Dublin crime gang ‘The Family’ trying to extort €20k-a-month from innocent family over drug debt

It is understood the gang members blame the man for botching the alleged abduction and torture of a person accused of stealing a large amount of heroin from them.

The criminals, who are based in Clondalkin and Ballyfermot, have been using aircraft to smuggle drugs into Ireland. One major delivery worth an estimated €8m was intercepted by gardaí.

However, sources said this is just the “tip of the iceberg”, with gardaí receiving intelligence that the gang is now dealing directly with Mexican cartels after moving away from traditional drug importation routes through the UK.

Revenue seized €195.2m worth of heroin and cocaine up to the end of last month

Long-established drugs-trafficking gangs in Ireland continued to increase their profits and supply networks this year, despite major successes by law enforcement.

Revenue seized €195.2m worth of heroin and cocaine up to the end of last month in 104 separate operations.

This does not include the 300kg of cocaine worth €21m that was seized by Revenue officers from a cargo vessel in the Port of Foynes, Co Limerick, on December 19.

Nor does it include the €876,000 of cocaine seized at Rosslare on December 16.

Seizures of herbal and cannabis resin totalling €56m were made up to the end of last month. This was concentrated over 2,316 actions.

Revenue officers also seized €8.1m worth of amphetamines, ecstasy and other drugs in over 6,400 seizures.

Figures supplied by gardaí reveal that drugs in excess of €210m were seized by the garda’s national drugs and organised crime bureau (GNDOCB) up to December 20. This includes €175m of cocaine, €25m of cannabis herb, €8.5m of heroin and €700,000 of MDMA.

The seizure of €157m of cocaine on the MV Matthew cargo ship off the Cork coast on September 24 was the biggest in the history of the State. The Kinahan cartel is suspected of being behind the shipment.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee sought cabinet approval to begin formal extradition negotiations with the United Arab Emirates

Gardaí have submitted a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to gang bosses Christy, Daniel and Christopher, who remain in Dubai. The file has been submitted with a view to prosecuting them with organised-crime offences.

Earlier this month, Justice Minister Helen McEntee sought cabinet approval to begin formal extradition negotiations with the United Arab Emirates.

The relative calm in gangland was shattered on November 18 with the murder of cocaine dealer Brandon Ledwidge (23), who was shot dead by a former close associate at his home in Finglas, Dublin.

An escalating feud in the Tallaght area also threatened to spiral out of control last month

It marked the first gangland murder of the year. By comparison, there were six gun deaths last year and 15 gang murders eight years ago. Gangland murders reached a peak of 22 in 2009.

An escalating feud in the Tallaght area also threatened to spiral out of control last month when an innocent woman was shot in the leg. The incident sparked revenge arson attacks on a house and a jeep.

The feud has been linked to numerous shootings, arson attacks and attempted murders this year. ​

Bray gangland victim Clinton McCormack (44) died in hospital earlier this month from medical complications after he was shot in the legs in a gun attack on a building site in Delgany, Co Wicklow.

The chief suspects for the December 14 shooting are a Bray-based organised crime gang considered the main supplier of drugs, particularly heroin, in north Wicklow. They are led by a criminal aged in his early 40s.

The gun attack at Browne’s Steakhouse in Blanchardstown, west Dublin, on Christmas Eve, which left gunman Tristan Sherry (26) dead and another man fighting for his life, is the latest gangland incident.

It has been linked to the Finglas-based ­criminal gang led by criminal Mr Flashy, who had been feuding with associates of the shooting victim.

As the drugs trade continues to cause mayhem on the streets, gardaí have observed a major increase in eastern European gangs operating here.

So far, they have managed to co-exist with the more established Irish gangs.

This includes the Mr Big crime network in north Dublin and a gang based in Meath and Dublin that is suspected of being linked to an €11m cocaine seizure in south Armagh earlier this month.