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# grave concerns
Kinahan cartel's 24hr surveillance system to protect David Byrne's grave
A number of people have been put in charge of scouting the graveside for suspicious behaviour.
A STATE OF the art surveillance system is in operation at an inner city cemetery to protect the headstone of murdered Kinahan cartel member David Byrne, TheJournal.ie can reveal.
At least two HD cameras with night-vision are recording areas of Mount Jerome cemetery near Harold’s Cross.
One camera is located near the small chapel in the cemetery while the other is placed on branches of a tree located near the exit. There are also CCTV cameras which are being used by cemetery security. These are legitimate cameras which have been operational for a number of years and have nothing to do with the cartel.
There have been previous incidents between the Kinahans and other warring factions in relation to the defacing of gravestones. There are fears that Byrne’s headstone will be targeted, such was his notoriety within the cartel.
While the cameras are a deterrent, the cartel has positioned them so they know exactly who has targeted the grave in the event of an act of vandalism, according to security sources.
The two cameras are hooked up to a remote recording device which has the ability to record hours of footage. There are also a number of people keeping watch at the grave on a daily basis such is the fear that it will be targeted.
There are also close associates of David Byrne who live nearby and act as makeshift security when suspicion is aroused about anyone at the site.
David Byrne was shot dead at the Regency Hotel in Santry last February, a murder which sparked the bloody feud which has claimed over 10 lives.
At the time of the shooting, senior gardaí insisted there had been “no specific intelligence” about a potential incident at the boxing weigh-in. The Assistant Commissioner Jack Nolan repeated this comment when he spoke recently to TheJournal.ie, adding that “nobody was really sure what would happen next”.
Since the Regency Hotel attack in February, gardaí have:
- Made 44 arrests in relation to gangland killings
- Seized 22 firearms
- Investigated over 8,000 lines of inquiry
- Conducted over 11,500 checkpoints
- Examined thousands of hours of CCTV footage and mobile phone traffic
Last year, gardaí were given an extra €55 million so that additional overtime could be given to officers investigating the criminal underworld.
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