Gang violence poses 'threat to public security' in Europe

Gardaí have cited the use by gangs of inexperienced people, often with drug problems or with drug debts, to carry out murders. File picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Violent attacks by criminal gangs have reached such a level that they now pose "a threat to public security" in Europe, the EU’s police agency has warned.

Europol said the use of “younger and inexperienced” hitmen and the easier access to firearms have driven the problem.

The agency said that some of the violence is being carried out in crowded public places and in broad daylight.

Gangland murders have fluctuated dramatically in Ireland over the last 10 years, reaching peaks in 2010 and 2016, with 20 gangland killings in 2010 and 18 in 2016. 

The latter year reflected the height of the murderous Kinahan-Hutch feud.

That feud saw a dramatic escalation in the threat to public safety with the military-style assault at a crowded hotel in February 2016 by the Hutch gang.

The murderous revenge campaign by the Kinahan cartel saw a number of innocent people being gunned down.

Last year was one of the quietest years in terms of gangland murders, with two deaths, compared to 10 in 2019, seven in 2018, and seven in 2017. The country has seen particularly vicious feuds emerging in north Dublin and in Louth in recent years.

'Growing competition'

The Europol report said the rise in violence in the drugs trade is tied to “growing competition among criminal networks”.

“Most drug-related fatal and serious violence have been reported in cocaine and cannabis markets, which have recently attracted new players,” it said. 

Garda sources, and academic research, have cited the large amounts of money that can be made at street level in the drugs trade, particularly cocaine.

Europol said there is “growing concern” at the rise in gang violence, the "risk to the general public" and an increase in the “impact and visibility” of the attacks.

It cited the discovery in July 2020 of shipping containers in the Netherlands which had been converted into torture chambers.

It said contract killings are typically carried out for between €10,000 and €100,000.

But it added: “Some Member States have noted that a hit currently costs much less than it did in the past, as a larger number of inexperienced and younger criminals are willing and available to carry out this type of crime.” 

Gardaí have cited the use by gangs of inexperienced people, often with drug problems or with drug debts, to carry out murders.