More than 100 arrests under 'gangland' laws as gardaí target human traffickers and fraudsters

The 2009 act has been used to tackle a wide range of crimes, including human trafficking, drug trafficking, economic crime, firearms offences, and associated money laundering.

Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, head of Special Crime Operations. Picture: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

The use of special ‘gangland’ laws has quadrupled over the last two years, with human traffickers and serious fraudsters joining drug traffickers and killers as targets of gardaí.

Official figures show the powers were used 104 times in the last year, compared to 24 occasions two years ago.