Bomb attacks up 140% as gangland threat intensifies

THE scale of gangland violence has been confirmed by new figures which show a 140% rise in bomb attacks.

Official statistics report that 19 viable explosive devices were dealt with by gardaí and the army between January and July this year. This compares with eight incidents in the same period last year.

The figures follow the seizure of eight pipe bombs in Longford on Sunday.

Fine Gael justice spokesperson Charlie Flanagan, who obtained the figures, said: “The upward trend in the use of explosive devices by criminals is worrying in the extreme. This is an indication that the stakes in gangland are getting higher and that increasingly desperate criminals will use any and all means to support their drug-fuelled operations.”

He said: “Pipe bombs and other improvised explosives are deadly weapons and pose a threat, not just to their intended targets, but also to innocent bystanders.”

He said equally worrying was the rise in hoax devices detected this year.

“While 33 hoaxes were dealt with between January and July of last year, this figure has risen to 45 in the same period this year.”

The figures come as details emerged yesterday of a petrol bomb attack on a Garda station in Co Meath. It is understood three bottles filled with petrol and rags were ignited and hurled into the back yard of the station before bursting into flames just metres from the building and two patrol cars. The incident occurred at Dunshaughlin Garda Station last Thursday and was discovered by a Garda as he returned from patrol.

The Garda found three separate fires in the yard and managed to quell the blazes using an extinguisher before the station or the patrol cars caught fire.

Dunshaughlin Sergeant Paul Tennanty described the incident as extremely serious and appealed to the public for assistance.

“One of the fire bombs was a wine bottle which was filled with petrol and rags before being lit and thrown into the yard. When the bomb impacts, petrol sprays everywhere and would burn someone alive if they were near it.”

Anyone with information can contact Dunshaughlin Garda Station at 01-8259059.