Friday, February 10, 2012
Fourteen-year-old boys openly dealing drugs, carrying knives, and even guns.
Other children forced to store drugs in their homes and drug bosses brandishing machetes in public.
This is the grim reality of life in Brookfield, Tallaght, according to two community workers in the south-west Dublin suburb where 16-year-old Melanie McCarthy was fatally shot this week.
The experienced workers would only speak to the Irish Examiner on the basis of anonymity, such is the fear, saying conditions had spiralled out of control in the last six months. They say there was:
* At least eight families run out of the area.
* Three shootings and one pipebomb attack.
* An incident two weeks ago when the area’s main drug boss ran through the estate brandishing a machete, while other gang members wielded sledgehammers and axes.
* Members of a rival gang wearing bullet-proof vests.
The workers said teenagers were being roped into drug activity through their own drug use or as a result of being pressured to do so. "Some of the kids have actually no choice," said one worker. "They are beaten to a pulp and told to hide drugs and store them in their houses and gardens."
They also said:
* A 14-year-old boy was caught with a handgun last week.
* Children the same age are seen with wads of €50 notes.
* A 15-year-old boy had to pay off his drug debt by firing shots at a house.
* Children are using wheelie bins to move drugs and guns.
The community workers said there was a "turf war" between rival Traveller-based gangs, but that one family was "terrorising" Brookfield and effectively controlled it.
They believe Tuesday’s gun attack was carried out by this family, even though Melanie was not the intended target.
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