THE INVESTIGATION into the murder of 28-year-old Limerick man Shane Geoghegan will be "long and protracted", the head of the city's Garda has warned. He said the investigation was one of nine ongoing murder inquiries.
Newly-appointed Chief Supt Gerry Mahon made his comments yesterday to city councillors and Limerick TDs at a Joint Policing Committee meeting at City Hall. He said the Garda operation targeting Limerick drug dealers - particularly those associated with the south-side gang believed to be responsible for Mr Geoghegan's death - has resulted in the seizure of five firearms and €500,000 worth of drugs in recent weeks.
So far this year more than €3 million in drugs has been seized by gardaí in Limerick, 42 per cent of which was heroin, he said.
A total of 56 firearms have been seized this year while firearm discharges were "way down" on 2007, according to Chief Supt Mahon.
He said the National Drugs Unit, the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Organised Crime Unit and the Emergency Response Unit are all involved in the Geoghegan investigation. The operation targeting criminal gangs in Limerick city is running in tandem with an operation by local Criminal Asset Bureau assessors, bolstered by Cab in Dublin.
