The National Surveillance Unit (NSU) (
Irish: Aonad Faireacháin Náisiúinta) is the principal clandestine
intelligence gathering and
surveillance operations unit of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland. The unit operates under the Crime & Security Branch (CSB), based at Garda Headquarters in the
Phoenix Park, Dublin, and also works from
Harcourt Street, Dublin. Members of the unit are specially trained and selected Detective Gardaí who are tasked to remain covert whilst on and off duty, tracking suspected criminals, terrorists and hostile, foreign spies operating in Ireland. The unit's detectives are routinely armed. The National Surveillance Unit is understood to possess a manpower of approximately 100 officers, and is considered to be the most secretive arm of the force.[1][2]
Structure
The Garda National Surveillance Unit was formed in the mid-1990s, when the "Crime Special Surveillance Unit" and the "Crime Ordinary Surveillance Unit" were merged. It is the operational wing of the Security & Intelligence Section (S&I) of the
Crime & Security Branch (CSB). The unit is headed by a
Detective Chief Superintendent, who is under the supervision of the
Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Crime and Security Branch. It is understood to have a strength of about 100
plainclothes officers, mainly detectives, who all carry firearms (standard issue is the concealable
Walther P99c 9mm semi-automatic pistol). The unit is headquartered in the Phoenix Park, but carries out many operations from Harcourt Street.[3] The NSU has personnel nationwide, and works closely with the
Special Detective Unit (SDU) as well as Garda
analysts or "techies" in other Garda regions, although often local Gardaí are unaware of the presence of the NSU operating in their area.
The Garda NSU is considered the most covert unit of the force, and according to the Department of Justice: "It is the policy of An Garda Síochána not to comment on any matters relating to the operation of the National Surveillance Unit."[5]
"Ghost Teams"
The Garda NSU operates a small number of "Ghost Teams" or "Ghost Units", which conduct "
Black bag operations", whereby a team of officers will break into a property upon possession of a
warrant and plant
bugs to gather intelligence or evidence against suspected serious criminals, terrorists or hostile spies without their knowledge, and without leaving a trace (hence the name "Ghost Team").[6] The existence of these teams came to public attention following the publishing of The Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009.[7] The equipment and technology used by the NSU is highly sophisticated and very expensive, but is also kept secret.[8][9]
Activities
The National Surveillance Unit has been involved in a number of high-profile Garda operations, though rarely are the unit named, and they do not appear in public.
In August 1998, the
Real IRA terrorist organisation detonated a
car bomb in
Omagh,
Northern Ireland (see
Omagh bombing), killing 29 people and injuring 220 others. It was the single deadliest terrorist attack ever carried out on the
island of Ireland, and all the casualties were innocent members of the public.[10] In the aftermath, claims were made by
whistleblowers that the Garda National Surveillance Unit had obtained intelligence three weeks prior to the bombing that a stolen car would be used by the Real IRA in an attack on a town in Northern Ireland, and failed to pass this information on to the then
Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), in order to protect the identity of an
informant.[11] These claims have been strenuously denied by both the Garda Síochána and
Irish government, although subsequent investigations suggest that had the Gardaí and RUC pooled their resources, the attack may have been prevented.[12] The infiltration of
dissident republicans by the Gardaí, RUC,
MI5 and
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led to five foiled terrorist attacks in the same year, including a thwarted "spectacular" bombing of the
Aintree Grand National.[13]
In December 2001, NSU Detective Sergeant John Eiffe – aged 40 from
Ratoath,
County Meath – was killed by a bullet
ricochet from a colleague in the
Emergency Response Unit (ERU) during an operation to arrest four armed bank robbers in
Abbeyleix,
County Laois. The four men had been under surveillance by NSU detectives, and when they attempted to rob a bank, the NSU and Emergency Response Unit intervened. One of the men attempted to flee using his vehicle, and the sound of a tyre bursting led officers at the scene to believe they were being fired on by the armed robbers, causing them to open fire.[14] It later transpired that although the criminals had been carrying firearms, they had not discharged them. Gardaí discharged all 3 shots. Another officer was also injured in the incident, but recovered.[15]
In May 2009, NSU detectives shot and killed an armed raider in
Lucan,
County Dublin after he attempted to hold-up a cash-in-transit van. 27-year-old Gareth Molloy, who had previous criminal convictions, and his gang were under surveillance by the NSU for a number of weeks prior to the incident. Gardaí received intelligence that the gang were going to carry out a heist, and the NSU were backed-up by the
National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI),
Organised Crime Unit (OCU) and ERU.[16] When Molloy and a gang associate attempted to hold-up a cash delivery van at gunpoint and fired a shot in the air, NSU detectives intervened and ordered the armed raiders to drop their weapons. Gareth Molloy pointed a sawn-off shotgun in the direction of armed Gardaí and was immediately fired upon by NSU officers and was fatally wounded.[17] His associate refused to drop his weapon, and was also shot, but survived with serious injuries. 5 shots were fired by Gardaí in total. No one else was hurt. Four other gang members were arrested, charged and jailed following a pursuit in the aftermath of the incident.[18]
In March 2013, NSU detectives were carrying out physical surveillance on dissident republicans when a former leader of the Real IRA terrorist group, Peter Butterly, aged 35, was assassinated by his own gang[19] outside of a
public house in
Gormanston, County Meath, unaware of the presence of onlooking
intelligence officers. Five men were arrested at or close to the scene at gunpoint by the NSU, backed-up by the SDU and ERU, and three were charged with his murder, as well as terrorism offences.[20] It was reported that the Gardaí had an
undercover officer planted in the gang, who was being backed-up by armed officers nearby, and that he had to break his cover in the aftermath of the shooting to apprehend members of the gang. An NSU team had planted a
tracking device, following secret judicial approval, on the car in which their undercover officer was travelling in.[21] Armed Gardaí were forced to ram one vehicle to stop it fleeing the scene. No one else was injured in the incident.[22]
The National Surveillance Unit (NSU) (
Irish: Aonad Faireacháin Náisiúinta) is the principal clandestine
intelligence gathering and
surveillance operations unit of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland. The unit operates under the Crime & Security Branch (CSB), based at Garda Headquarters in the
Phoenix Park, Dublin, and also works from
Harcourt Street, Dublin. Members of the unit are specially trained and selected Detective Gardaí who are tasked to remain covert whilst on and off duty, tracking suspected criminals, terrorists and hostile, foreign spies operating in Ireland. The unit's detectives are routinely armed. The National Surveillance Unit is understood to possess a manpower of approximately 100 officers, and is considered to be the most secretive arm of the force.[1][2]
Structure
The Garda National Surveillance Unit was formed in the mid-1990s, when the "Crime Special Surveillance Unit" and the "Crime Ordinary Surveillance Unit" were merged. It is the operational wing of the Security & Intelligence Section (S&I) of the
Crime & Security Branch (CSB). The unit is headed by a
Detective Chief Superintendent, who is under the supervision of the
Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Crime and Security Branch. It is understood to have a strength of about 100
plainclothes officers, mainly detectives, who all carry firearms (standard issue is the concealable
Walther P99c 9mm semi-automatic pistol). The unit is headquartered in the Phoenix Park, but carries out many operations from Harcourt Street.[3] The NSU has personnel nationwide, and works closely with the
Special Detective Unit (SDU) as well as Garda
analysts or "techies" in other Garda regions, although often local Gardaí are unaware of the presence of the NSU operating in their area.
The Garda NSU is considered the most covert unit of the force, and according to the Department of Justice: "It is the policy of An Garda Síochána not to comment on any matters relating to the operation of the National Surveillance Unit."[5]
"Ghost Teams"
The Garda NSU operates a small number of "Ghost Teams" or "Ghost Units", which conduct "
Black bag operations", whereby a team of officers will break into a property upon possession of a
warrant and plant
bugs to gather intelligence or evidence against suspected serious criminals, terrorists or hostile spies without their knowledge, and without leaving a trace (hence the name "Ghost Team").[6] The existence of these teams came to public attention following the publishing of The Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009.[7] The equipment and technology used by the NSU is highly sophisticated and very expensive, but is also kept secret.[8][9]
Activities
The National Surveillance Unit has been involved in a number of high-profile Garda operations, though rarely are the unit named, and they do not appear in public.
In August 1998, the
Real IRA terrorist organisation detonated a
car bomb in
Omagh,
Northern Ireland (see
Omagh bombing), killing 29 people and injuring 220 others. It was the single deadliest terrorist attack ever carried out on the
island of Ireland, and all the casualties were innocent members of the public.[10] In the aftermath, claims were made by
whistleblowers that the Garda National Surveillance Unit had obtained intelligence three weeks prior to the bombing that a stolen car would be used by the Real IRA in an attack on a town in Northern Ireland, and failed to pass this information on to the then
Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), in order to protect the identity of an
informant.[11] These claims have been strenuously denied by both the Garda Síochána and
Irish government, although subsequent investigations suggest that had the Gardaí and RUC pooled their resources, the attack may have been prevented.[12] The infiltration of
dissident republicans by the Gardaí, RUC,
MI5 and
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led to five foiled terrorist attacks in the same year, including a thwarted "spectacular" bombing of the
Aintree Grand National.[13]
In December 2001, NSU Detective Sergeant John Eiffe – aged 40 from
Ratoath,
County Meath – was killed by a bullet
ricochet from a colleague in the
Emergency Response Unit (ERU) during an operation to arrest four armed bank robbers in
Abbeyleix,
County Laois. The four men had been under surveillance by NSU detectives, and when they attempted to rob a bank, the NSU and Emergency Response Unit intervened. One of the men attempted to flee using his vehicle, and the sound of a tyre bursting led officers at the scene to believe they were being fired on by the armed robbers, causing them to open fire.[14] It later transpired that although the criminals had been carrying firearms, they had not discharged them. Gardaí discharged all 3 shots. Another officer was also injured in the incident, but recovered.[15]
In May 2009, NSU detectives shot and killed an armed raider in
Lucan,
County Dublin after he attempted to hold-up a cash-in-transit van. 27-year-old Gareth Molloy, who had previous criminal convictions, and his gang were under surveillance by the NSU for a number of weeks prior to the incident. Gardaí received intelligence that the gang were going to carry out a heist, and the NSU were backed-up by the
National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI),
Organised Crime Unit (OCU) and ERU.[16] When Molloy and a gang associate attempted to hold-up a cash delivery van at gunpoint and fired a shot in the air, NSU detectives intervened and ordered the armed raiders to drop their weapons. Gareth Molloy pointed a sawn-off shotgun in the direction of armed Gardaí and was immediately fired upon by NSU officers and was fatally wounded.[17] His associate refused to drop his weapon, and was also shot, but survived with serious injuries. 5 shots were fired by Gardaí in total. No one else was hurt. Four other gang members were arrested, charged and jailed following a pursuit in the aftermath of the incident.[18]
In March 2013, NSU detectives were carrying out physical surveillance on dissident republicans when a former leader of the Real IRA terrorist group, Peter Butterly, aged 35, was assassinated by his own gang[19] outside of a
public house in
Gormanston, County Meath, unaware of the presence of onlooking
intelligence officers. Five men were arrested at or close to the scene at gunpoint by the NSU, backed-up by the SDU and ERU, and three were charged with his murder, as well as terrorism offences.[20] It was reported that the Gardaí had an
undercover officer planted in the gang, who was being backed-up by armed officers nearby, and that he had to break his cover in the aftermath of the shooting to apprehend members of the gang. An NSU team had planted a
tracking device, following secret judicial approval, on the car in which their undercover officer was travelling in.[21] Armed Gardaí were forced to ram one vehicle to stop it fleeing the scene. No one else was injured in the incident.[22]