A senior member of a Limerick organised crime gang has been jailed for 15 years for his role in a plot three years ago, to kidnap two men in London and demand over €340,000.
Ger Dundon, who changed his name by deed poll to Darren McClean, after he went to the UK following his release from prison here, threatened to shoot the two men "in the head" and "put their brains all over the road."
The 38-year-old denied the charges and was the only one of five men convicted at Wood Green Crown Court.
Judge John Dodd described Dundon today as "a gangland enforcer" who has convictions for drugs, gun, serious and violent crime.
Ger Dundon is a senior figure in the McCarthy Dundon criminal gang which was involved in a murderous feud with the rival Keane-Collopy gang over the control of the drugs trade in Limerick.
After he was released from prison here in 2018, he changed his name to Darren McClean and became involved in a plot to kidnap two brothers in London and force them to hand over £300,000(stg).
The two brothers were moved from London and held at a caravan site at Smithy Fen, Cambridgeshire.
They were fed sleeping tablets, stripped of their clothes, made to wash with Dettol spray and forced to call their relatives in a bid to get cash for their release in July 2020.
Dundon threatened to shoot them in the head if they did not pay the ransom
'If you f--k up I’m going to put their brains all over the road, okay," Dundon said in a recording of a call made to relatives of the victims. "If you f**k my people around I’m gonna shoot these two dudes in the head."
He was caught driving the van with one of the brothers lying on a mattress in the back.
The judge described his claim that he was "a host providing respite" and the men were his "guests" as "ludicrous".
Sentencing the Limerick gang member today, Judge John Dodd told him he had lived a life of crime in Ireland and the UK and was "a committed career criminal" who was prepared to use violence to achieve his aims.
The judge said Dundon had sought to blackmail two brothers and terrorise their family in a "cruel and vicious" manner.
He also said he must serve at least half the 15-year term before applying for parole.
