Detectives today spoke of a city on a knife-edge as gunmen hunting in packs for each other got involved in a series of tit-for-tat assaults.
Declan Duffy, the notorious INLA leader in Dublin, was arrested after a rival was stabbed in the face in one of the incidents.
Today the Garda Commissioner ordered more armed officers onto the streets after a total of three violent incidents, involving gun and knife attacks.
Knifed
Officers are increasingly concerned for the safety of the public after a car was shot up and a man was knifed in the face in the turf war between INLA leader Duffy and drugs trafficker Freddie Thompson.
Duffy himself was arrested yesterday after one of Thompson’s men was stabbed in the face. However, the INLA boss was later released when the victim withdrew his complaint.
In just a few hours in the capital yesterday:
* A black VW Golf GTi was shot up on Galtymore Road, Crumlin. Witnesses said three shots were fired but gardai have been unable to find the car.
* An armed gang member walked into a bookies shop in central Dublin and said he was looking for Freddie Thompson.
* Duffy was arrested after a member of Thompson’s outfit was stabbed on Dean Street.
Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy has ordered officers to undertake intensive patrols and “in your face” policing to prevent further violence.
This morning, armed officers carried out searches across the south inner city and in the Crumlin area in a bid to disrupt the gangs and source their weapons.
“We are doing a lot of stops and searches but there is little doubt this thing is getting out of control.
“Everybody is predicting that by this time next week either Freddie or Duffy or both will be dead,” one investigator said.
The 50 members of the Organised Crime Unit, led by Det Supt Dominic Hayes, are working full time on the feud and mounting armed checkpoints to thwart the gangs.
They are being backed up by detectives from Kevin Street, Kilmainham, Crumlin and Sundrive Road stations under the command of Det Supts Denis Donegan and PJ Browne.
The Special Branch at Harcourt Square and Emergency Response Unit are also on the case.
The gang members travel in convoys of three cars, with the gang leader in one and a gun in one of the other cars or on a motorcycle.
“If they bump into each other there will be wholesale violence. We just hope a member of the public does not get caught up in it,” said one source.
“If the gang members are stopped, the car or bike with the gun will peel away or be warned in advance of the checkpoint,” he added.
The three-car convoys are made up of five people on each side.
“A senior detectives said today: “We are trying to cope but these people are going around hunting in packs like animals. It seems inevitable that there will be bloodshed.”
Three men were arrested after the Galtymore Rd shooting. They were taken into custody but no weapons were found and they were subjected to a drug search.
Thompson’s crew was being blamed for the Galtymore Road incident. The occupants of the car are linked to the opposing side in the so-called Drimnagh feud, in which “Fat Freddie” Thompson is also embroiled.
Three attempts have already been made on Duffy’s life and a number on that of Thompson with an AK47 smuggled up from Limerick to carry out hits on Thompson
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Originally Posted by Kalif