Gardaí stepped up armed patrols in areas of Limerick city on Tuesday amid rising tensions among rival groups who are said to have “access to serious weaponry”.
The recent upsurge in tensions involves young associates of rival gangs who are paranoid and erratic due to addictions to cocaine, sources said.
Photographs shared on social media showed a convoy of garda vehicles on their way to carry out raids in St Mary’s Park on Tuesday after a number incidents, including car windows being smashed and an attempt to burn a car after tensions flared during a soccer match in the city.
The rival groups, which are led by experienced senior drug dealers, previously feuded for a decade from 2000, leading to a number of killings. Young men associated with the gangs have recently been involved in local clashes and verbal exchanges on social media, which has fuelled tensions.
Gardaí have visited a number of individuals to deliver Garda Information Messages, warning them that they are subject of threats to their lives.
A large garda contingent raided flashpoint areas on Tuesday in a “show of strength” and a bid to calm the situation, said a source. There are concerns that recent tensions could spill over and lead to further violence.
“The senior drug dealers see themselves as businessmen, if you will, but the younger lads are drug users as well as dealers and they are highly erratic,” said a source.
“The older brigade don’t want to go back to what it was like 20 years ago, they are businessmen now and they have moved on from all that, but all it takes is one act of violence, one person to be killed and all bets are off then.”
They added that there is concern about the younger gang members’ access to weapons and their criminal connections.
“There was a lot of raids in St Mary’s Park [on] Tuesday, and the gardaí have been keeping a presence in Moyross.
“The presence in St Mary’s Park the other day was a signal from Gardaí to these young crews that we are not going back 15/20 years.”
The source said CCTV cameras which have been strategically located in flashpoint areas around the gang’s bases, are key for gardaí to keep track of certain individuals.
A garda spokesman replied: “An Garda Síochána does not comment on ongoing investigations.”