A NORTH DUBLIN feud which has been simmering for the last six months is in danger of boiling over as a significant drugs seizure has fuelled speculation of an informant within the gang.

Armed patrols of areas frequented by the gang figures have been increased in recent days and units across the district have been told to immediately pass on any intelligence they receive – no matter how insignificant it may seem – to the drugs unit.

On Tuesday afternoon, a large quantity of drugs worth an estimated €3 million were seized in Kilbarrack, north Dublin.

As part of a joint operation from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and Revenue’s Customs Service, they seized 30kgs of MDMA and 20kgs of ketamine.

Gardaí believe that the shipment was to be delivered, cut and distributed across north Dublin in the Coolock and Finglas areas. From there, intelligence has suggested that the drugs, including large quantities of the ketamine, were then to be transported nationwide.

There is a fear within certain criminal circles that feud within the the gang could form. Sporadic violence erupted across pockets of Finglas, Ballymun and Coolock over the last few months in relation to this gang.

Gardaí are now preparing for a flurry of activity from a number of high-profile criminals.

Usually in the wake of large drug seizure, criminals attempt to shore up their drug supply and cash reserves. This is due to the fact that they fear that there is an informant in their ranks.

This is an important time for gardaí. The movements of the gang’s key players over the coming weeks will inform them of how the gang is reforming. There are usually wholesale changes to a drug gang’s make-up in the wake of a large seizure. Typically, those who have most recently joined are cast aside – deemed untrustworthy by the upper echelons of the criminal enterprise.

This, in itself, causes problems. There are numerous examples of how those who have been removed from the gang join rival groups, armed with the knowledge of their former employer’s operations.

Fear and paranoia, mixed with a recent multi-million euro drug seizure, creates its own tinderbox. Therefore, more armed patrols are now taking place across the region as a result.

The ketamine which was discovered by gardaí and Revenue earlier this week. Source: Revenue

The leader of the gang has been sharing his time between Dublin and north Wicklow in recent months. He has not been since Tuesday evening, shortly after the drugs were discovered, fuelling speculation that there is a significant threat to his life.

There has been one death linked to this feud so far. One man took his own life in prison after being arrested on suspicion of planning an attack.