ERU on streets as new Fat Freddie war erupts

Irish Herald


By Cormac Byrne

Monday November 22 2010

ARMED gardai have been deployed to south Dublin after gang boss Fat Freddie ordered a sickening attack on one of his own lieutenants.

Heavily armed units from the Emergency Response Unit have been running checkpoints across Crumlin and Drimnagh to quell gangland tensions.

A row has erupted within the ranks of Fat Freddie Thompson's drug trafficking gang which threatens to explode into all-out war.

Thompson ordered the attack after his lieutenant made lewd comments about an old flame of his, leading to a vicious 'Glasgow smile' slashing.

A Glasgow smile is a nickname for the result of cutting a victim's face from the edges of the mouth to the ears. The cut leaves horrific scars which form what resembles a smile.

He was slashed across both cheeks in a bid to leave his face permanently disfigured. He also suffered a laceration to his forehead and was heavily beaten in the attack.

The victim was once a leading member of Freddie's gang.

"There is a real fear that extreme violence could escalate in south Dublin," a source told the Herald.

"The ERU operation has been successful so far but there are players out there hell-bent on revenge."

Elite officers from the crack armed unit have been operating roving checkpoints around South Dublin to quell tension on the area.

The atmosphere had been at fever pitch in recent weeks after nights of Halloween violence which involved gun and grenade attacks linked to the King Ratt crime gang.

The gardai spend only about 20 minutes at each random checkpoint before moving to another location.

The operation's objective is to thwart the activities and movements of gangland criminals and sources say the plan is working.

It also provides gardai with intelligence on the current state of the most active gangs, as well as the hierarchy and make-up of the gangs, which are constantly evolving.

Thompson and his gangland pal Gary Hutch are currently in hiding in Amsterdam's criminal underworld after European Arrest Warrants were issued for the pair by Spanish police.

Authorities in the Costa Del Sol wish to quiz them over the killing of gun-for-hire Paddy Doyle in 2008 in the Costa Del Sol and their involvement with Christy Kinahan's drugs empire.

Under the terms of the warrant the gangster can be arrested by gardai on sight and deported to Spain.

SHOOTING

Spanish authorities believe that the men's accounts of what happened that day could be the key to discovering Doyle's killer.

The pair may face charges for withholding information if and when they are detained.

Doyle was travelling in a jeep along with Thompson and Hutch in Estepona in February 2008 when their vehicle was stopped.

Doyle was shot twice in the head, while his pals narrowly avoided injury in the attack.

Fat Freddie has been travelling between Holland, England and Ireland in recent months and has been carrying out attacks and intimidation tactics on dealers in Dublin.

hnews@herald.ie

- Cormac Byrne