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Assistant commissioner: 'We won't be resting on our laurels' after Freddie Thompson guilty verdict

Thompson is the latest to be convicted of murder in relation to the ongoing gang feud.

A SENIOR GARDA has said that An Garda Síochána won’t be “resting on its laurels” in its efforts to thwart gangland crime following the guilty verdict given against Freddie Thompson yesterday. 

The 37-year-old Thompson, with an address at Loreto Road, Maryland in Dublin, was found guilty by three judges at the Special Criminal Court of the murder of David Douglas on 1 July 2016.

Assistant commissioner John O’Driscoll, with responsibility for special crime operations, told RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland that while the conviction was a welcome one from the gardaí’s perspective, work continues to bring others involved in Douglas’ murder to justice.

“It was just one of a number of unfortunate incidents where people were murdered by criminal gangs involved in the feud,” he said. “Fortunately, we have intervened successfully in excess of 50 cases where there was threat to life.”

O’Driscoll said the conviction of Thompson in relation to gangland killing was one of a number of other recent convictions connected to the Hutch-Kinahan feud.

He said: “We had a conviction of James Quinn in Spain in June in relation to the murder of Gary Hutch. There was a conviction in January related to the murder of Michael Barr at Sunset House

We’ve had convictions in relation to the seizing of firearms in Green Oak. We’re now in a phase of achieving convictions in the many interventions we’ve made, where the investigations of murder have come to a successful conclusion.

When queried about the case against Thompson being reliant largely on circumstantial evidence, the assistant commissioner said that it wasn’t necessary for a case like this that features a lot of circumstantial evidence to be heard at the Special Criminal Court.

“Clearly, it was the extent of the evidence, and I sat through some of it, there were literally hours upon hours of CCTV,” he said. “There was a huge case built up by detectives at Kevin Street and Kilmainham.”

In this case we may not have convicted the person whom it may be alleged fired the shot, so to speak, but that also follows on from a conviction in Spain on 21 June where the Spanish authorities achieved a conviction in relation to James Quinn.

Further work would be done now by An Garda Síochána, he said, to intervene when a person’s life was threatened, continue seizing illegal drugs and discover firearms that gangs are using.

“There’s a determination on our part to dismantle all the criminal gangs involved, and we’re in for the long haul,” O’Driscoll said. “This is a phase of success, but we won’t be resting on our laurels.”

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    Mute Paul Radburn
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    Aug 9th 2014, 4:03 PM

    Fair play to her

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    Mute mister
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    Aug 9th 2014, 4:10 PM

    And how appropriate that she comes from an age-group that is particularly affected by the problem.

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    Mute J. Dunn
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    Aug 9th 2014, 4:57 PM

    Necessity is the mother of invention.

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    Mute Roisin Byrne
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    Aug 9th 2014, 4:16 PM

    Well that makes me feel like an underachiever, but fair play to her!

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    Mute Shane Mc Quillan
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    Aug 9th 2014, 4:16 PM

    Should try it out on everyone who has a social media profile. Plenty of people aged 25+ who would still post a nasty and cyber bullying type of comment,even after a moment of reflection on it

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    Mute Aoife Kally
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    Aug 9th 2014, 4:16 PM

    Wow that’s fantastic :)

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    Mute Bernard O'Brien
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    Aug 9th 2014, 5:32 PM

    Maith an cailin. Go n’eiri an bothar leat.

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    Mute John Doyle
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    Aug 9th 2014, 4:35 PM

    So Think before you speak? Please tell me more about this discovery.

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    Mute Dylan
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    Aug 9th 2014, 4:39 PM

    I thought that’s what kids were told in school all the time about cyber bullying

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    Mute Jack Bowden
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    Aug 9th 2014, 4:14 PM

    What a goodie goodie two shoes, full of herself little madam.

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    Mute Jack Bowden
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    Aug 9th 2014, 4:15 PM

    Wait a minute, I didn’t want to send that. :-)

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    Mute Brigid Popps
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    Aug 9th 2014, 6:32 PM

    What an innovator congrats to her it would be wonderful to see the end of this vile practice

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    Mute Wont be censored
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    Aug 10th 2014, 1:30 AM

    She would have enough material for her doctorate on the Journal.ie comments section.

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    Mute joe soap
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    Aug 9th 2014, 6:58 PM

    I have a much easier surefire way.get off the internet.

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    Mute Dervy O' S
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    Aug 10th 2014, 1:08 AM

    Such a great idea, delighted to see their are some compassionate little teens out there wanting to make the world a better place :) fair play to her :)

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    Mute Windom Earle
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    Aug 9th 2014, 10:35 PM

    I think she should blame Obama and Israel.

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    Mute John Ocallaghan
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    Aug 10th 2014, 5:17 AM

    Jack grow up

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    Mute WellHello
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    Aug 10th 2014, 11:20 AM

    Think we’ll be hearing a lot more from this girl in years to come! Well done!

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