Direct Action Against Drugs was a
vigilante group in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
that claimed responsibility for the killing of a number of alleged
drug dealer
A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...
s. The organisation was allegedly a
front name used by the
Provisional IRA
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
in claiming responsibility for the killings. It was made up of IRA active members exclusively.
List of suspected DAAD attacks 1995–2001
*December 1995
**Martin McCrory, a small-time drug dealer killed at his home in
Turf Lodge, west Belfast.
[CAIN](_blank)
Chronology of the Conflict 1995; accessed 8 November 2007.
** Chris Johnston (aged 38) was killed at his home off
Ormeau Road, south Belfast.
**Francis Collins, a former member of the IRA, was killed at his chip shop in
New Lodge, Belfast
The New Lodge () is an urban, working class Catholic community in Belfast, Northern Ireland, immediately to the north of the city centre. The landscape is dominated by several large tower blocks. The area has a number of murals, mostly sited ...
.
*January 1996
**Ian Lyons died 2 January 1996, one day after being shot while sitting in a parked car outside a friend's home, Conor Park,
Lurgan
Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and roughly southwest of Belfast. The town is linked to Belfast by both the M1 motorway (Northern Ireland), M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin rail ...
, County Armagh.
[CAIN](_blank)
Chronology of the Conflict 1996; accessed 8 November 2007.
*September 1996
** Séan (John) Devlin, killed in Friendly Street, Markets, south Belfast.
*February 1998
**Brendan Campbell (aged 30), a convicted drug dealer, was shot dead outside a restaurant in south Belfast.
Chronology of the Conflict 1998; accessed 8 November 2007.
*May 1999
**Brendan Joseph Fegan (aged 24), who had been described as one of Northern Ireland's main drug dealers, was shot 16 times by two gunmen in the Hermitage Bar, Newry.
*June 1999
**Paul Downey (aged 37), a suspected drug dealer from
Newry
Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...
, was shot dead, allegedly by DAAD.
*April 2001
**Christopher O'Kane, who had a reputation as a drug dealer, was gunned down as he returned to his 'Security Heavy' home in the Currynieran estate, Derry, on 21 April 2001 which was believed to be the 1st killing by D.A.A.D in Derry City but was also the very last killing by the vigilante group in Ireland. O'Kane was out celebrating his birthday whilst the Provos lay in wait for him for a few hours before executing him with a shotgun and AR-15 assault rifle when he returned home and struggled to get into his security heavy home so tried escaping down an alley where he was shot multiple times.
See also
*
Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD)
References
{{PIRA
Front organizations
Provisional Irish Republican Army
Vigilantes
Illegal drug trade in the United Kingdom
Paramilitary punishment attacks in Northern Ireland