Prolific armed gang linked to many crimes

FOILED ARMED ROBBERY IN DUBLIN:THE SIX-man gang that took part in yesterday's robbery in Lucan, Dublin, was led by two cousins from the north inner city.

The men, who were under arrest last night, are related to a major gangland figure and have themselves become Ireland’s most prolific armed robbers in recent years.

The man shot dead yesterday was Gareth Molloy. The 28-year-old from lower Sheriff St in Dublin’s north inner city was known to gardaí, but would not have been regarded as a major gangland player.

One Garda source described him as a “fairly minor figure in recent years” and said he was surprised Molloy was involved in yesterday’s raid.

In 1998, aged 17, Molloy was jailed for five years for robbery. In 2003 he was given a six year sentence for firearms offences, with all but 18 months suspended. He underwent a drug treatment programme after his release.

Molloy was associated with a number of criminals who have been embroiled in a gangland feud in the north inner city which has so far claimed three lives.

Four years ago he carried out a robbery in the IFSC with one of the feuding criminals in which a bar worker was shot in the back of the head but survived.

The raider who was wounded yesterday and is seriously ill in hospital is a 26-year-old man with an address just off Sheriff St. He was jailed for three years in 2006 for road traffic offences.

He was also before the courts in 2006 on firearms offences. That case was discontinued by the State although the reasons the charges were withdrawn are unclear.

Two of the four men arrested yesterday are cousins in their 20s. They are related to a well-known armed robber from the north inner city who has made a major settlement with the Criminal Assets Bureau.

The cousins are the best known of yesterday’s gang and are seen as the leaders of the group.

One of them was arrested for questioning about the robbery of €7.6 million from the Bank of Ireland, College Green, Dublin, in February. The money was stolen after the family of a bank worker was held hostage.

The man was also questioned in February about the shooting dead in Finglas in 2007 of Derek Duffy. The petty criminal was shot in the head five times as he sat in his car. An effort was made to set his car on fire with his remains inside.

The suspect is active in the drugs trade as well as armed robbery and associates with Irish drug dealers in southern Spain.

The other cousin being questioned last night is the chief suspect in a stabbing murder. He is also suspected of being behind a number of robberies almost identical to yesterday’s foiled raid.

He was arrested last month in connection with an armed raid in East Wall when a shot was fired at a cash-in-transit van worker delivering money to a post office.

He was also a suspect for another raid in Clontarf, north Dublin, last July when a crew member of a cash-in-transit van was shot at. The other two men being questioned are minor criminal figures from Foxdene in Lucan close to the scene of yesterday’s attempted raid.