12 members of Traveller gang arrested

GARDAÍ will push for charges under powerful anti-gang laws against the leaders of a notorious Traveller crime family.

Twelve men were picked up in a massive Garda swoop in the south-east as part of an ongoing operation targeting the Waterford-based gang.

The gang, centred around extended family members, is engaged in a feud with a rival Traveller gang, which has a presence in Waterford and Cork.

This violent feud has resulted in gun attacks on children, as well as pipe bomb attacks and serious assaults, culminating last December in the brutal murder of Willie Stokes in Tipperary town in front of his 12-year-old son.

Gardaí carried out searches in Waterford, Cork, Tipperary and Dublin in a operation on Monday. A large number of suspected stolen items, including laptops, mobile phones and sat-navs, were confiscated and €10,000-worth of drugs recovered. They also recovered a rifle, ammunition and weapons, including slash hooks.

“This gang is very much involved in organised crime, particularly serious burglaries and break-ins,” said a garda source. “We also believe they are involved in drug dealing.”

He said most of the 12 arrested are gang members or associates: “We have a large number of crimes linked to them through different evidence and intelligence, as well as the murder of Willie Stokes.”

The 12 can be held for up to seven days. Garda sources are confident of bringing initial charges of handling stolen property or drug trafficking.

Detectives will also submit a file to the DPP under the powerful anti-gang legislation introduced last July concerning directing or participating in a criminal organisation.

Garda sources are optimistic they will be able to “cross the line” in terms of the evidence required to pursue a prosecution under this legislation.