Limerick Gangs Call Truce

A precarious truce has been forged between the two criminal gangs in Limerick who have been involved in a murderous feud for eight years.

The feuding McCarthy-Dundon and Keane-Collopy gangs have formally agreed to the provisional truce just before the weekend through two intermediaries acting as go-betweens for the two gangs.

It is the first truce of its kind since the feud began in 2000. The move followed a series of covert meetings and successive phone calls to senior members of both the gangs who are locked up behind bars.

Both Christy Keane and Wayne Dundon, who are serving lengthy sentences, were involved in formalising the agreement between the feuding factions.

It is understood that the quarrelling factions agreed to a break in hostilities as they are both coming under intensive pressure from the Criminal Assets Bureau and gardaí investigation, known as Operation Platinum.

However, some gardaí sources are sceptical whether the truce will hold.

In the eight years of the feud, 10 gang members among others have lost their lives. Meanwhile there has been countless shootings, arson attacks, threats issued and violence inflicted by both sides. Gardai have seized weapons on a regular basis including Desert Eagle handguns, AK-47 assault rifles, rocket launchers and grenades.

(DW)