A power struggle over the control of crime and drugs on the north side of Limerick city has led to the emergence of a new young criminal gang, a meeting of Limerick’s Joint Policing Committee has been warned.
Concerns over the establishment of the gang follow a shooting at a house in the Delmege Park area of Moyross last week when five shots were fired from a semi-automatic handgun through the front sittingroom window.
It is believed the shooting and an incident the previous week when a man was attacked with a slash hook in Pineview Gardens, Moyross, are connected to the murder of Robert Sheahan in September 2012.
Speaking at yesterday’s meeting in Limerick City Hall, Sinn Féin councillor Maurice Quinlivan warned that the “violent gang on the north side” was made up of teenagers who have access to weapons.
Gang feud
“There is concern that there is a gang establishing themselves on the north side with young members aged 17, 18, and 19 and they have access to weapons. It seems to be a gang feud that’s starting to emerge in the area, basically about the control of drugs and the control of crime in the area, where a cohort of youngsters are taking on older people involved in the trade.”
According to Chief Supt Dave Sheahan there is a very strong presence of gardaí in the Moyross area at the moment. One man was arrested following last week’s shootings and a “further arrest will possibly emanate from the same”.
Addressing the meeting Chief Supt Sheahan said the Moyross and O’Malley Park areas have been flashpoints for gardaí recently but he insisted a “proactive response” had taken place in both parts of the city.
The recent arrest of five people in connection with criminal activity in the Southill area had “quelled” the situation on the south side, he added.
No murders
In his report on crime and traffic from December 2012 to February 2013, Chief Supt Sheahan outlined significant declines in crime in the region.
The meeting heard there have been no murders in Limerick in the past year, and other crimes against the person, including non-aggravated sexual assault, were down 61 per cent.