79 arrests in two years in organised crime crackdown

The garda operation which targets organised crime has led to 79 arrests, 10 murder charges, and 37 firearms seized in relation to murder offences over the past two years, according to Department of Justice report.

The report also said that Operation Hybrid, which launched at the end of 2015, had resulted in around 280 searches being carried out and 16,600 lines of inquiry conducted, with more than 57,000 high-visibility checkpoints.

The figures are contained in a report by the Minister for Justice on the Operation of Section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 and specifically Section 8 (6) of the Act which declares ordinary courts are “inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice in relation to certain specified offences” and instead directs those offences be tried in the Special Criminal Court.