Gardaí investigating efforts to drop a pipe bomb from a drone on to a house in north Dublin are fearful the gangland feud the incident is linked to will now escalate sharply.
Garda sources said the device was being examined by the force’s ballistics and technical experts to pinpoint any evidence that may identify who constructed or handled the pipe bomb. The drone was also being technically examined.
Debris from the drone, and the intact pipe bomb, were discovered in the garden of a house in Glenties Park, Finglas, late on Sunday night after it appeared to crash at the wrong address.
Gardaí believe the viable device was being flown to the home of a man linked to the feud with the intention of dropping the pipe bomb on to that man’s property. The target is a young associate of one of the gang leaders.
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The drone and unexploded pipe bomb were discovered, however, at about 11pm, in the garden of a family with no involvement in crime. It was spotted, and then moved a short distance, by a member of the public. Gardaí and bomb disposal experts from the Defence Forces explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team attended the scene.
The nature of the botched attack – delivering an explosive device by air – is unprecedented in Irish organised crime. It is a cause of serious concern for gardaí in Finglas and the specialist units investigating gang crime nationally.
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Garda sources said they now feared copycat incidents and other violence, including gun attacks, would result as part of the worsening feud in Finglas. The dispute, which is linked to control of the local drug trade, has already led to arson attacks and shots being fired in recent weeks.
Within hours of the drone pipe bomb being discovered, gardaí were planning to target some of the figures in the feud in a co-ordinated series of searches. That operation, which was put in place quickly, began to unfold on Monday night and was targeted at men who gardaí say are linked to the feuding factions.
No arrests were made and it was unclear if anything of evidential value was seized.
However, a significant wave of Garda operations was expected to be directed at the two feuding factions with a view to charging key figures with serious offences before the feud results in fatalities.
