NEW units of heavily armed gardaí are on the streets of Dublin amid fears more death threats are circulating in a gangland feud which has claimed three lives.
In the north inner city, less than a mile from where the latest victim was gunned down on Monday night, one of the most high profile checkpoints was in place for several hours.
Eddie Hutch, aged in his fifties and a brother of crime boss Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, was shot dead in his home off Dublin's North Strand in an apparent retaliation for the fatal gun attack at the Regency Hotel last Friday in which David Byrne from Crumlin in the south of the city was murdered.
Byrne's death was in turn believed to be a reprisal for the killing of Gary Hutch, the first victim of the bloody feud when he was gunned down in Spain's Costa del Sol last September.
On Seville Place, a short distance from Dublin's financial district, four heavily armed officers from the Garda's Emergency Response Unit, kitted out with protective eye wear, body armour and headgear, were backed up by at least 12 uniformed members and plain clothed armed detectives.
Cars, vans and cyclists were being stopped at random with people asked for identification and to explain their movements.
The checkpoint was one of several set up in locations where known gangsters live.
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said the security operation will be increased in the coming months when armed units are expanded and become a permanent fixture in some areas where organised crime is more of a threat.
"We will stand down this threat from these gangs," the minister said.
Previous similar Garda crack downs have managed to successfully subdue drugs gangs which operated with near impunity in some disadvantaged estates in the Limerick city in the noughties and also to ease tensions in the Sheriff Street area of Dublin in recent years.
At least four masked men were involved in the Hutch murder just off North Strand on Dublin's north side, with the car used in the killing found abandoned a short distance away near Drumcondra.
Hutch's brother 'The Monk' admitted he was a criminal in a 2008 RTÉ interview, but denied he was a drug dealer or hitman. He insisted his money came from property deals.
The shooting followed the Regency Hotel attack, where Byrne was killed and two others were seriously injured by a six-strong gang, three of whom were armed with assault rifles and dressed in Swat team uniforms and helmets.
A weigh-in for a boxing title fight promoted by Frank Warren and MGM Promotions, based in Marbella, was being held at the time.
In the immediate aftermath, Byrne's murder was linked to a feud between major Irish organised crime outfits who operate between Dublin and the south of Spain, with speculation that it was a direct retaliation for the Hutch murder.
There were also reports that Daniel Kinahan, who manages some boxers in the MGM camp, was in the Regency at the time of the attack.
He is the son of crime boss Christy Kinahan.
The concern now is that further reprisals will be carried out.
Conflicting statements both purporting to come from the dissident group the Continuity IRA - one to the BBC in Belfast claiming responsibility for the Regency attack and another dismissing that claim - are still being investigated, the minister said.
Senior gardaí initially ruled out terrorist involvement for the Regency attack.
Ms Fitzgerald has appealed for any other gang members who fear for their lives to come forward and seek protection but it is not known if anyone has taken up the offer.
