‘14-year-olds holding guns, drugs to ingratiate themselves with gangs’

JUVENILES as young as 14 are being caught by gardaí holding guns and drugs for gang bosses, a senior officer said yesterday.

Chief Superintendent Gerry Phillips said some of these children were doing this to “ingratiate themselves with gang leaders”. The top garda said a high-profile armed operation, code-named Hybrid, set up to combat gangland crime in north Dublin, had come across a number of such incidents. “We have seized guns and cannabis, including €1.5 million of cannabis last week, and made arrests,” he said.

“A number of guns have been seized, even young people who are holding guns for other criminals.