Freddie gang 'owned a slice of Hyland's f2m cannabis haul'

Irish Herald

By Cormac Looney

Saturday November 21 2009

A €2m seized drug shipment which lead to two of Marlo Hyland's lieutenants being jailed this week was part-owned by Freddie Thompson's gang.

The Herald understands that a Crumlin criminal associate of Thompson was arrested by gardai after the 2006 seizure in the car park of Brown's Barn pub in Citywest.

Two of Hyland's gang members, Willie Hynes (43) and John Mangan (41), have been jailed for their role in overseeing the movement of the cannabis resin shipment.

According to security sources, another man arrested following the seizure was a Crumlin criminal in his late 20s who is known to associate with members of the gang led by south city criminal Thompson.

Gardai believe that part of the massive haul was owned by Thompson and the other part by Hyland, and that the men were meeting at Brown's Barn to divide up the haul of cannabis resin, which had been separated into 14 boxes. The seed money for the shipment is believed to have been around €400,000 -- which was lost by the criminals.

The seizure of the haul represented a major success for gardai who had launched Operation Oak to specfically target Hyland and his Finglas-based associates, including Mangan and Hynes.

The Crumlin connection only became known at the time of the Brown's Barn seizure, it is understood. A number of threats and counter-threats were issued between the gangs after the seizure.

A source said: "This was a bonanza seizure for the guards. Not only did they snare Marlo's top two men, but they also hit the Thompson crew hard in the pocket too.

"There were widespread recriminations after the seizure and it's unclear if the two groups worked together again. One side blamed the other for being lax in their movements and allowing themselves to be picked up."

Hyland was murdered five months after the July 2006 seizure. Gardai do not believe that his death was in any way linked to Brown's Barn incident, but was instead over a power struggle within his own gang after Hyland ordered the murder of his own gang member Paddy Harte, shot dead in May 2006.

The gang who took over the Hyland outfit threatened a number of the gang's old guard after Hyland's death. Mangan himself received death threats while awaiting trial for the Brown's Barn seizure. He armed himself with a handgun, and was later caught in possession of this weapon by gardai.

clooney@herald.ie

- Cormac Looney

Jailed for life for his role in shooting of Freddie associate

Irish Herald

By Lonan Paul

Wednesday November 18 2009

THE MAN shot dead by a hitman in the Killester bookie shop murder was associated with feuding criminal gangs led by gang boss 'Fat' Freddie Thompson.

Christy Barry (25), who was murdered as he sat in a Donnycarney bookmakers, was known to gangster associates of Thompson on the city's southside and also had a conviction for drugs.

Gardai believe that he was shot dead because of his close association with the Crumlin gang, and the fact that he was an 'easy target', who did not carry a firearm for protection.

The Central Criminal Court heard evidence of Mr Barry's criminal past as one of his killers, Liam Bolger (23), was yesterday found guilty of Mr Barry's murder.

A specific motive for the killing was not divulged in court evidence, but gardai are satisfied it was a tit for tat killing caused by a feud between Thompson's gang and a rival south city outfit.

Bolger, whose own father was shot dead in a killing at a Clanbrassil Street bar in 1995, was the getaway driver who took the assassin from the scene of Mr Barry's murder, at Killester Avenue, on September 13, 2009. He was jailed for life yesterday.

The gunman has not been caught.

There were emotional scenes in the court as Bolger, of Homelawn Gardens in Tallaght, was found guilty of the murder of Christopher Barry.

Mr Barry's relatives reacted angrily and whispered "lies" as the court was told by a detective that Mr Barry had a conviction for a drugs offence, and had been associated with the feud between the Crumlin and Drimnagh criminal gangs.

In her victim impact statement, Mr Barry's mother Ann said: "September 13th was the worst day of our lives. Christy left the house laughing and joking like he always was... there are no words to describe the pain and hardship."

wept

Mr Barry's relatives wept openly as she told the court that she had suffered a massive heart attack when she heard that her son had been shot dead. "He was a beautiful young man who brought laughter and joy... I was so proud to have him for a son. He still lives on in our hearts."

Speaking after the verdict, the victim's mother Ann Barry said she had been unable to attend the trial because she didn't want to look at the accused.

But she said she empathised with Bolger's mother Jean. "God help his mother... she's without her son too. My heart goes out to her," Mrs Barry said.

The murderer's mother and family members broke down as the majority 10-2 verdict was read out, following almost seven hours of deliberations over two days, by the jury of six men and six women.

The accused, a father of one and a plasterer by trade, had denied the murder at Byrne's bookmakers, Killester Avenue in Donnycarny.

Christopher Barry's murder was described in court as a chillingly efficient assassination. Counsel for the prosecution, Mr Paddy McCarthy, said that while Bolger was not the actual assassin, he shared equal responsibility for the murder, and the case was one of joint enterprise.

"The gunman is not before the court... Liam Bolger is charged with the murder because he was part and parcel of everything that occurred... there was a murder and it was carried out because Liam Bolger and the gunman agreed to participate," Mr McCarthy said.

During the trial, the jury was also shown CCTV footage of the gunman shooting Mr Barry inside the bookmakers. Customers fled the shop as the man, wearing a motorcycle helmet, entered the bookies with a gun pointed at Mr Barry, who was seated in the corner.

Mr Barry tried to run, but the gunman pursued him into the corner of the shop, shooting him nine times in six seconds.

The gunman left the bookies on a motorbike, which he then set fire to on La Vista Avenue, just around the corner from the scene of the shooting.

He was then seen by a witness sprinting down the road, before jumping into a waiting white Renault van, driven by Bolger.

Female garda in city quizzed over leaks to criminal gangs

Irish Herald

Monday November 09 2009

A female garda based in Dublin has become the fourth officer under investigation on suspicion of leaking information from the garda computerised information system to criminals.

Gardai have confirmed a probe is under way and is examining whether the female officer may have been coerced into leaking the top secret intelligence.

The young garda, based in a city station, is believed to have a cocaine addiction and owed money to drug dealers. Gardai said another young garda with an addiction is also under scrutiny.

Three other gardai have been under investigation for allegedly leaking information from the 'PULSE' computer system.

Two are on restricted duties pending further inquiries and one, based in the north west of the city, has been suspended while a file is prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions after he was suspected of passing information to one of the biggest drugs and tiger kidnapping gangs in the city.

As a result of the inquiries into this garda, 17 young gardai -- who it is alleged were tricked into downloading information using their own log-on details on the PULSE system -- are also facing internal disciplinary inquiries.

Detectives believe the latest garda to come under scrutiny had a secret but serious drug habit and may have run up debts and was effectively being blackmailed. She is single and joined the force only in recent years.

The prospect of criminal gangs tapping into sensitive information on the PULSE system is "horrific", according to one senior detective yesterday who said it could quite easily lead to more gangland murders.

Prison gang feud behind knife attacks

Irish Herald

By Cormac Looney and Charlie Mallon

Monday November 02 2009

Two prisoners have been attacked with knives at Mountjoy Prison in an ongoing row between Finglas and Crumlin criminals.

The incidents occurred during the past two weeks and are believed to have been carried out by a gang centred around thug Leroy Dumbrell.

Dispute

The inmate (22), who has 57 previous convictions, has emerged as a senior figure among criminals at the jail during the past year.

Despite his young age, prison sources said Dumbrell, the young brother of notorious criminal Warren Dumbrell, has established himself as the leader of an Inchicore-Crumlin gang.

They are based in the B1 wing of the prison and are involved in a dispute with Finglas criminals based in the B3 wing.

Associates of Dumbrell are suspected of involvement in two reported attacks over the past fortnight, which led to Finglas inmates being injured.

The attacks are suspected to have been carried out by Neil Fitzgerald, a Crumlin gunman.

Fitzgerald, who has 77 previous convictions, has previously spent time in protective custody as a result of threats made to him behind bars.

He is serving a 12-year sentence after he was convicted for producing a semi-automatic pistol in an effort to evade arrest in Dolphin's Barn in July 2008.

Dumbrell came to prominence when he was convicted in 2006 for an unprovoked attack on man, who lost his eyesight after being struck in the face.

The man was walking his dog when he was confronted by Dumbrell, who was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for the crime.

Murdering

He has since been joined behind bars by his two brothers, Warren and Jeffrey, who are serving life sentences handed down last year for murdering a man outside an Inchicore flats complex.

Warren (35) is regarded as one of the country's most dangerous criminals and has previously staged a riot at Mountjoy.

He is now incarcerated at the Midlands' Prison in Portlaoise.

hnews@herald.ie

- Cormac Looney and Charlie Mallon