Spying on the guards.

Mint Sauce

Two men currently being questioned by An Garda Síochána after attempts were made to spy on them.

Detectives investigating the activities of dissident republicans searched a nearby hotel room and found surveillance equipment, including a digital camera.

Images taken from the seized camera were of some serving officers, as part of what detectives believe was an attempt to gather information about gardaí.

Gardaí are describing the discovery of the equipment as significant.

The Harcourt Hotel, where the equipment was found, is across the road from the building housing the garda specialist units, the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Organised Crime Unit, the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation and the Special Detective Unit.

The seizure was made after a known dissident republican was seen in the area yesterday afternoon, raising garda suspicion.

He was tracked to a room in the hotel and when gardaí discovered it was booked in a false name they searched it and found surveillance equipment, including the digital camera.

Two men, aged 41 and 32, were subsequently arrested on Grafton Street in Dublin.

They are still being questioned this evening at Irishtown Garda Station and can be detained for up to three days.

This is not the first time that a subversive group has tried to spy on gardaí.

More than 20 years ago an IRA man turned Sinn Féin advisor was found taking pictures from an attic in a house across the road.

He was subsequently caught with firearms and sentenced to eight years in prison.

Dissident republican groups have found themselves the subject of an intense investigation following criminal activity at the funeral of Alan Ryan earlier this month.

Over 20 people have been arrested, three have been charged and a man is still being questioned today after a gun linked to a gangland shooting was found in Tallaght yesterday.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0927/two-arrested-over-surveillance-of-garda-station.html

The most biziare part of that story was the departments they were trying to spy on, and makes you wonder who is doing the most survalance, the ones invloved in terrorism and organised crime, or the authorities.

Sir Pompous Righteousness

Spying? Maybe they just found them sexy.

666irishguy

I'd say they were trying to get photographs of potential surveyors of themselves so they could watch out for them, or perhaps info on the types of unmarked vehicles the Gardai drive. Could also be trying to identify and get images of potential targets for intimidation. Sounds like amateur intelligence gathering and counter surveillance being countered by professional intelligence gathering and counter surveillance.

Fenian Army

If only they'd put similar efforts into getting the drug gangs... seemingly they can kill with impunity but if a rag tag group dress in combats at a funeral all the stops are pulled out

the keen edge

I'd say it was pretty low level spying, not actually counter-intelligence; rather an attempt to identify individual Gardai and then target them on a personal level.

You must remember the dissidents are more of a group of bully boy scumbags than a cohesive paramilitary organisation.

super_furry

Fenian Army wrote: »

If only they'd put similar efforts into getting the drug gangs... seemingly they can kill with impunity but if a rag tag group dress in combats at a funeral all the stops are pulled out

I think you're confusing the Gardai with the fashion police.

Woooo-woooo-woooo combats is it? I could take ye in for that alone lads, but those balaclavas too? Ye'll be doing a long stretch.

Rigol

twas market researchers from dunkin donuts.

mikom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sed8IjdXdGk

K-9

Fenian Army wrote: »

If only they'd put similar efforts into getting the drug gangs... seemingly they can kill with impunity but if a rag tag group dress in combats at a funeral all the stops are pulled out

Don't really see how that matters much, its important that they were caught, rag tag or not.

These guys must have watched too many episodes of Spooks.

My name is URL

surveillance equipment, including a digital camera

lol.. They're fairly hi-tech so

Local-womanizer

Fenian Army wrote: »

If only they'd put similar efforts into getting the drug gangs... seemingly they can kill with impunity but if a rag tag group dress in combats at a funeral all the stops are pulled out

Just to add to this:

A rag tag group who discharged illegally held weapons in an urban area.

Also Drug gangs = dissident republicans.

Not exactly all the stops were pulled out with the funeral scum, simply a matter of simple surveillance and follow up investigations, after all they did it in plain sight of the gardai, idiots

Palytoxin

They were keeping sketch

Sunnyisland

They could have been working for, ;How clean is your hotel; and that one just happens to be across from one of the main garda hq. :-)

TheFruitarian

Yes, they caught some ne'er-do-wells spying of Garda behaviour, but I think we all know that the news reports are fibbing a little to save Garda blushes, as it wasn't Harcourt Terrace that the surveillance equipment was trained on, twas Copper Face Jacks.

starbelgrade

My name is URL wrote: »

lol.. They're fairly hi-tech so

They're RA heads. They probably spent half the time wondering where to put the film into the camera.

Ghandee

Initial reports are 'they're fierce fond of donuts'.

Donuts and coffee.

The RA heads were under the impression that there was drugs being stored in the station.

Slurryface

Fenian Army wrote: »

If only they'd put similar efforts into getting the drug gangs... seemingly they can kill with impunity but if a rag tag group dress in combats at a funeral all the stops are pulled out

Them ragtags in their combats is organized crime/drug gangs as well, no differnce in them and any crime gang, except the ragtags are more viscious. I also think you'll find it was the fact they were firing of guns in a residential area ,like the cowboys they are, that was the problem, not the mobsters funeral in itself.

Plazaman

Still though, they got lucky just cause they spotted one of the dissident dopes walking around the area. What if he wasn't spotted, how far would it have gone?

With the loss of experienced officers in the last cull due to retirements so they could avail of full pensions and with the embargo still on recruiting, the thin blue line is being stretched very thin as has being quoted in the papers many times. Hopefully the Guards won't have to rely on luck too often.

Could go into the PAC report and stories like this about squadering public money and how the government should get the finger out but it's being done to death and just angries up my blood.