LEADERS of a major drug-trafficking gang are being questioned by gardaí in five counties following one of the biggest operations against organised crime in recent years.

Some 300 gardaí met at Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin, and in Wexford and Cork stations from 4am yesterday before raiding over 30 locations in a co-ordinated pre-dawn operation.

The target of the so-called “super raid” was a drug-trafficking gang based mainly around Sheriff Street in Dublin’s north inner city but with criminal contacts nationally. The gang has been involved in a feud in recent years with another faction also based in Sheriff Street. The feud has cost five lives, two of them this year.

Gardaí yesterday searched 33 addresses in Dublin, Cavan, Wexford, Cork and Kildare. A total of 13 people, including all of the key targets, were arrested – nine of them in Dublin, and two in both Cork and Wexford.

Gardaí seized a small quantity of cocaine and confiscated mobile phones, computers and bulletproof vests. Records linked to property investments were also taken from the offices of solicitors and accountants by members of the Criminal Assets Bureau.