How the narcotics trade has reached every corner of Republic despite Covid-19
Conor Lally, 08 May 2021
Last September, armed gardaí charged with tackling Ireland’s drugs criminals searched properties 200km apart in Mountmellick, Co Laois, and the tiny village of Lisselton, Co Kerry, seizing nearly €4 million in cash.
The raids illustrated a few things. Drugs have reached every part of the State and the trade is booming, despite every pub and nightclub in the country having been shut for the previous six months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Most significantly, the money – the biggest cash haul ever discovered in a gangland operation in the Republic – was not owned by the Kinahan cartel. Instead, it was owned by a gang barely known by the public, but is known in the media as “The Family”.
The tag is a misnomer, since only two of the West Dublin gang’s leading members are related. However, they have taken over prime position from the Kinahan cartel’s Irish operation following a slow and steady climb away from tabloid headlines.
So what of the Irish drugs trade? What condition is it in after more than a year of lockdown? And just who are “The Family” and how have they quietly grown so much to challenge the supremacy of the Kinahans.
