Yardie gangsters from London on streets of Limerick
A NOTORIOUS Limerick criminal gang have brought Yardie gangsters to the city in an effort to restore their lost drugs trade.
Limerick Live has learned that at least three members of the Yardies - a criminal gang in the UK with Jamaican roots - have appeared in the city in the last month.
They are said to be used by the Limerick gang to reclaim territory lost to rival drug dealers in recent years after they were decimated by gardai.
"They are using the Yardies as muscle. They are going around intimidating drug dealers. It’s like in the TV show The Wire when the Barksdale crew brought gangsters from outside Baltimore in to help them. It’s crazy stuff," said one source.
Gardai are aware of the Yardies being in Limerick and conducted a major operation on the Hyde Road in recent days.
Video footage emerged on social media which showed up to 10 garda vehicles at the scene. Search teams, plain clothes and uniformed gardai, dog unit, armed support were all involved in the operation to "target an organised crime gang due to recent activity in the city".
Limerick Live has also confirmed that the knife attack in Henry Street on Wednesday afternoon is not connected to the Yardies. It is understood that was a dispute over an alleged stolen bicycle.