Ambush fears as two gang figures arrested while following prison van

A SENIOR leader in one of the country’s most feared criminal gangs has been arrested while trailing a prison van.

The gang boss, along with an associate, was travelling in a car behind a prison van late on Thursday night in the Ballyfermot area of west Dublin.

Garda units pulled the car over when they spotted it being driven in a suspicious manner behind a prison van. The van had no prisoners and was being driven by two prison officers to nearby Cloverhill Prison.

When gardaí identified the two men, they arrested them and brought them to Ballyfermot Garda Station. One of the men is a senior family member of one of the two main feuding gangs in Limerick and a top target of gardaí, both in Limerick and nationally. The second man is also an associate of gang members.

A Garda spokesman confirmed the car had been stopped and that the two occupants were brought to a nearby station for a drugs search.

Nothing illegal was found and the men were later released without charge.

It is not clear what the two men’s aim was. Gardaí are investigating whether the they had thought there were prisoners inside the van or were planning for some future attempt and were researching the route taken by the van.

The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) yesterday said vans carrying inmates could be ambushed and raised concerns over the seriousness of the incident in Ballyfermot.

POA general secretary John Clinton warned members to be extra vigilant, especially in the wake of an increase in organised crime gangs.

“This may be a new element of their criminal activities,” he said.

“We can be as vigilant as we can but if there are elements, serious criminals, tracking you down and waiting to try and ambush a prison service van you’re going to be left in a very serious situation should they decide to act. These people were serious criminal elements who were picked up by the gardaí. The gardaí were very efficient last night and we are thankful for that.

“It’s reassuring in one way but it’s also very worrying in another that this type of incident has occurred.”