FIVE young men have been stabbed in a small area of Dublin city within the last fortnight.

Gardai are massively concerned about the spate of attacks with a source saying parts of the south inner city are “far worse than the Bronx at the moment”.

The worst affected areas include Basin Street, Reuben Street, St Anthony's Road where violent incidents involving gangs are becoming a daily occurrence.

The vast majority of the “low level” warfare is not reported in the media or officially publicised by gardai who are struggling to contain the violent gangs who have dozens of young members.

A senior source explained: “What is happening in this area of the city is nothing short of a disgrace. A new breed of criminal is operating in these areas who have absolutely no regard for the law or for anything else.

“There have been a number of very violent incidents including stabbing and assaults. It is only a matter of time before we will be dealing with multiple murders here.”

There has now been around 50 incidents of gang related activity recorded in the south inner city in the past year including three gangland murders, a number of attempted murders, shootings, stabbings and bombings.

The most recent murder in the locality was that of drug dealer Michael Kelly (27) who was shot dead last month at Grand Canal Place. Five people have been arrested so far in relation to it but there have been no charges.

The entire structure of gangland activity in this area has changed drastically in recent years with much younger criminals now taking the place of older gang bosses like ‘Fat' Freddie Thompson.

Gardai in the south inner city have been struggling to contain the activities of the gangs with almost 200 gang members identified in the Dublin 8 area alone.

Crackdown

These gang members have been divided into six geographical zones by specialist detectives. For example the patch around Basin Street and James Street has 20 gang members while 24 active gangsters have been identified in the nearby Fatima and Maryland area with 55 gang members identified in The Coombe.

In a crackdown by gardai, all officers based at Kevin Street and Kilmainham Garda Stations have been requested to nominate individuals that they know are involved in gangs.

A source explained: “This is as serious a situation as many of even the most experienced officers in the area have seen – we are talking here about a very vicious brand of criminal aged in their late teens and early 20s.

“The area is swarming with threats and violence – young fellas are getting savage beatings and being stabbed for debts of less than €100 in some cases.”

Online Editors