GANGLAND GODFATHER

Ger Dundon (21) had been sought by gardai to begin a 10-month jail sentence since he failed to appear for a Circuit Court appeal on October 24 last. He was handed the jail term after he pleaded guilty to a total of 34 motoring offences, including illegally driving a bullet- proof and armour-plated BMW supplied by his gang, the notorious McCarthy-Dundons. Gardai believe the same outfit is responsible for the brutal slaying of Mr Geoghegan on Sunday. Dundon, of Hyde Road, Ballinacurra-Weston, Limerick walked into Limerick court offices yesterday evening. He contacted gardai and gave himself over to officers. He was last night spending his first night of a 10-month sentence in Limerick prison. Investigating officers are certain to ask Dundon if he played any role, or had any knowledge of the network behind Mr Geoghegan's killing. His arrest came just hours after Limerick came to a virtual standstill for the funeral of the latest innocent victim of the city's murderous feud. On a b...

The situation in Limerick,will further worsen later this year when key figures from both the main super gangs are released. Both have sworn vengeance against each other and their families. Gardai also believe that Russell was murdered because he was suspected of murdering Gerard Byrne, 25, of Ferryman's Crossing, Dublin, who was shot dead in the IFSC on December 13, 2006. A €50,000 contract is believed to have been put on Russell's head. The north inner city feud has been underway for over two years since it emerged that a previous gang leader, Christy Griffin, had been raping and sexually abusing his partner's daughter from since she was only eight years of age. When Griffin was finally jailed for life in April last year the woman, from the Summerhill area, assumed control of his gang. She is thought to be the only woman gang leader in Ireland and is described by gardai as "highly dangerous". Although it was initially thought last week that there had only been tw...

Gardai have linked a number of bomb finds with a major feud between rival Dublin city gangs which has claimed ten lives since 2005.In one of the most significant breakthroughs, the Garda’s Organised Crime Unit discovered two grenades and a high-calibre handgun during a vehicle check in west Dublin earlier thismonth. Aseries of recent arrests under the auspices of Operation Anvil, which targets armed crime, have led detectives to conclude that several attacks were being planned against a rival gang involving the use of firearms and grenades. The feuding gangs are based in the Crumlin-Drimnagh area, and have been involved in bloody warfare since a row over seized drugs led to a series of accusations of information being passed to gardai and tit-for-tat killings, which have culminated in at least eight planned assassinations. But it is the increasing use of home-made bombs by criminals involved in minor disputes which is of most concern to senior gardai. Last week alone there were three b...

small group of criminal godfathers is directing the gangland violence which has claimed the lives of 11 people in Limerick in the past eight years, a chief state prosecutor revealed last night.Limerick state solicitor Michael Murray, who has overseen landmark convictions following the murders of crime boss Kieran Keane and night-club doorman Brian Fitzgerald, said the criminal masterminds remain untouchable because a steady supply of willing lieutenants are willing to risk jail to serve them. Mr Murray said the good work of the country's leading gardai was being undone by the ready availability of disadvantaged aspiring criminals to do the dirty work for their seniors. Up to four crimelords based in the Mid-West region are conducting the notorious gangland criminality in Limerick which has led to the violent deaths of at least 11 men since 2000 and Mr Murray describes their activities as "unrelenting". "So long as the godfathers are there, they will always manipulate...

Siezed bullet-proof BMW worth €100,000 belonging to a leading member of one of the country's most dangerous criminal gangs after a high-speed car chase.The driver of the car, who is a close relation to the vehicle's owner, was arrested following the pursuit after he failed to stop the high-performance vehicle at a garda checkpoint in Limerick city.Officers also recovered a bullet-proof vest in the vehicle. The arrested man is likely to face charges in connection with the incident.The top-of-the-range black BMW, which was fitted with bullet-proof glass at a cost of €100,000 to the owner, belongs to a leading member of the Dundon-McCarthy gang. The car owner, who is behind bars, and the arrested driver remain a target for gangs based in the St Mary's Park area of the city.The vehicle remains impounded following the high speed chase on Tuesday.The driver of the vehicle who is in his early 20s is well known to Limerick gardai investigating ongoing criminal and gangland activity...