The two organised crime gangs are suspected of working together with other crime gangs to organise the murder of north Dublin hitman Lawlor.
At least six of the raids happened in counties Meath, Co Louth and Dublin while two were conducted in Co Sligo.
The targets of what gardai called a Cross Border Joint Action Task Force (JATF) investigation were multiple properties linked to the ‘Mr Big’ organised crime gang and two houses whose occupants who are linked to jailed Sligo crime lord Barry Young (39).
The two organised crime gangs are suspected of working together with other crime gangs to organise the murder of north Dublin hitman Lawlor in Belfast in April, 2020.
The Sunday World can reveal that over €20,000 in cash was seized from relatives of ‘Mr Big’ in one of the searches in north Dublin yesterday.
Items of furniture were seized in a separate raid on a close female associate of ‘Mr Big’ in another residential search in north Co Dublin.
Robbie Lawlor
The home of a close female associate of Mr Big’s number two in command was also raided – the male individual is currently before the courts on money laundering charges.
Another property that was targeted by detectives is close to where violent disorder broke out in Coolock last week.
There were no arrests in the cross border policing operation.
The chief suspect for shooting Lawlor is an “enforcer” from Sligo who is a key member of Barry Young’s gang.
Sources say that neither of the occupants of the two Sligo houses targeted by gardai yesterday have any link to the murder suspect.
Instead it is believed that information obtained from mobile phone evidence linked to the murder led to the “relatively off-the-radar” individuals being targeted.
While no mobile phones were seized in the Sligo phase of the operation, sources said multiple phones had been seized in the ‘Mr Big’ phase of the massive operation which spanned three Leinster counties.
In May, the PSNI arrested a man in the Lawlor case and he was released on police bail after being held for a number of days.
There is an expectation that he could be charged with the high profile murder and sources previously revealed that the PSNI also want to question Barry Young about his suspected “logistical” involvement in the gangland shooting.
Barry Young
The murder suspect is currently based in England and is said to be “deeply concerned” that he will be arrested by gardai investigating the Barry Young organised crime gang if he was to return home.
Young is currently serving an 11 year jail sentence for directing a criminal organisation.
Six people including two women have now been sentenced for their various roles in Young’s gang with another six before the courts.
Young was in serious debt to north Dublin gang boss ‘Mr Big’ who is aged in his mid 40s and was a was a sworn enemy of gangland serial killer Robbie Lawlor.
The involvement of his organisation in that murder has been probed by police and is considered one of the main motives.
This is because Lawlor was the chief suspect for murdering Mr Big’s right-hand man and best pal Kenneth Finn (36) in Coolock in February, 2018.
Robbie Lawlor was shot dead in Belfast in April, 2020, less than three months after he was suspected of an active involvement in the murder of Drogheda teenager Keane Mulready Woods.
Finn is believed to have been shot by Lawlor
Two men have been charged in Northern Ireland in relation to Lawlor’s murder.
Gardai announced details of their search operation today.
“As part of the Cross Border Joint Action Task Force (JATF), An Garda Síochána have conducted searches at 12 premises in Dublin and Sligo this morning Tuesday 23rd July, 2024 with the support of colleagues from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI),” a garda spokeswoman said.
“The searches are part of an ongoing, joint investigation into the murder of Robbie Lawlor which occurred in Belfast, Northern Ireland on the 4th April, 2020. “This joint investigation is led by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the PSNI Major Investigation Team with the support of Eurojust – the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Co-Operation. “During the course of today’s searches, Gardaí seized a number of mobile phones for further examination. “No persons were arrested during these searches. “An Garda Síochána and the PSNI continue to investigate all of the circumstances of this murder,” she explained.
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