Almost 20 feud arrests in one county in Midlands already this year

Close to 20 feud related arrests have taken place since the turn of the year in one county in the Midlands.

Details surrounding the figures for Longford comes after an open letter calling for increased garda resources and tougher sentencing measures was sent to Justice Minister Helen McEntee and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris last week.

In April, detectives arrested nine people in connection to an alleged shooting in Longford town which later resulted in a man being allegedly mown down by a van in a feud related hit and run.

The incident, which occurred on January 24, left a man with serious injuries in hospital.

More than 60 investigation files have been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) between 2019 and the end of last year.

Following the outbreak of violence between rivalling factions, senior garda management launched a major crackdown under ‘Operation Stola’ in the Longford town and south Longford area.

Since then, sawn-off shotguns, machetes, hatchets, hockey sticks, wrenches, pitch-forks, bricks, carving knives and other weapons have been seized.