A Co Armagh crime gang had a setback this week after searches and seizures by a special PSNI team, but 'The Firm' are a significant criminal enterprise and will not be defeated easily because of their cross-community structures. Security Correspondent Connla Young reports.
A notorious Co Armagh crime gang responsible for several murders has set up an international network for the supply of drugs.
Known as ‘The Firm’, the infamous mob currently controls much of the drugs trade in north Armagh.
The gang, which includes dozens of members, has emerged as one of the most organised and ruthless cartels operating in the north.
With links to gangsters in England and Spain, it has a vice like grip on the drugs trade across a large swathe of Co Armagh.
Local sources suggest the core gang currently consists of between 40-50 members and includes both men and woman.
With a powerbase in Lurgan, its reach extends across most of north Armagh and further afield.
In the past the group has shown it is prepared to kill in order to protect its multi-million pound operation and is linked to several murders and shootings across north Armagh in recent years.
Unlike many other crime groups operating in the north, members of The Firm are drawn from across the community divide.
Although not politically active, several leading figures in the group come from republican and loyalist backgrounds.
Sources said The Firm is not typical of other high profile narco-gangs operating in the north.
“It’s unusual because they are a cross-community organised crime group,” one source said.
“Some come from republican backgrounds, they have impeccable republican credentials.”
Despite The Firm’s steady growth and strength it has faced little or no challenge from the various hardline republican factions with a presence in the north Armagh area.
One source last said The Firm appears to have "no fear" of any paramilitary group.
It's leaders, thought to number around six senior figures, work closely together to make sure the gang maintains a stranglehold over the lucrative drugs trade in the area.
A source said: "There's no Catholic boss, no Protestant boss.
"It's quiet smart the way they have put it together.
"There are Catholic bosses and Protestant bosses, equal."
"The Catholic Protestant thing is very much beneath them."
At the heart of the gang's toxic activities is the supply of drugs.
However, sources suggest its leaders have been careful about what type of drugs they peddle in order to avoid any potential community backlash.
It is suggested The Firm's leaders have placed a "prohibition" on the supply of highly addictive and deadly drugs like heroin and various pills that flood some parts of the north.
Instead, huge amounts of cash are raked in through the sale of what are incorrectly perceived to be 'recreational' substances such as cocaine and herbal cannabis.
In recent years the use of these dangerous drugs, especially in nationalist areas, has become less stigmatised and more widespread.
In a measure designed to protect their own interests, the gang's leaders strictly avoid the supply of potentially deadly heroin in particular.
"The people revolt against it," said a source.
"How much damage does cocaine really do, the answer is quiet a bit.
"It can do psychological damage to people, the grass now causes mental health problems, but it doesn't kill anybody.
"Once you are seen to get into heroin....the public detest you."
The Irish News understands that narco-gangs in other nationalist areas have also adopted a similar tactic in order to avoid provoking anti-drug sentiment in local communities.
The Firm's leaders have also put in place self serving measures when it comes to supply chains.
Sources suggest that several supply routes have been established independently of each other over recent years.
If one is taken down by law enforcement agencies or in the event of a gangland fall-out, the supply of product on the remaining routes will continue as normal.
The Firm has been linked to the notorious Kinahan cartel in the past.
However, it is understood that the international crime group supplies only some of the drugs that make their way into Co Armagh.
It is believed The Firm has also established a solid supply chain through Albanian gangsters based in Manchester and other parts of England.
The north Armagh mob is also thought to source some of its drugs in Spain.
These are then brought into the north via associates based in Sligo.
Over recent years the powerful Lurgan-based gang has been linked to several murders and other violent attacks as its grip on the drugs trade across the district has tightened.
Worryingly, it is also said by informed sources to have "ready access" to firearms and "a knowledge of explosives".
It is understood that in the past the group has attempted to acquire military grade explosives abroad.
Earlier this week the PSNI carried out a series of raids in Portadown.
While refusing to identify the organised crime group targeted, police said it operates in the greater Craigavon area.
Nine suspected firearms, drugs and £6,000 in cash were recovered after six houses were raided in the Garvaghy Road area.
While some of the weapons are believed to be replicas, the haul put on display at a press conference on Monday appeared to include high-powered Glock handguns.
The discovery of a haul of potentially deadly weapons in May last year has also been linked to The Firm.
The find of 11 guns at Jetterspass, near Newry, was made by the National Crime Agency as part of an "investigation into organised crime".
At the time the NCA described the find as the "most significant" in the area over the past decade saying the weapons appeared to be "in good condition and ready for use".
Sources with knowledge of firearms suggest the seized cache includes several weapons of eastern European origin including a Czech made Skorpion machine pistol.
Whether eastern European drug contacts were involved in the procurement and supply of the weapons is not known.
While The Firm has faced little significant community opposition in the past there are hints of a recent shift in the public mood in parts of Co Armagh.
It is suggested the recent suicide of a young man in the Craigavon area who is said to have owed members of The Firm a drug debt has hardened the attitude of many locals.
A recent list circulated on social media identified around 40 people it was claimed were members of The Firm.
Sources have said that while some of those named are key figures other individuals identified have no association with the gang.
Photographs of people it is claimed are senior members have also been circulated via social media recently.
In relation to the list, the PSNI said: “Police are aware of messages circulating on social media which refer to named individuals.
“We do not discuss ongoing investigations or the security of any individual."
