Garda extortion ring of gig workers

jimwallace197 · 02-01-2022 10:18PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118407449#Comment_118407449

I wouldnt disrespect a Burger King assistant like that tbh

02-01-2022 10:32PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118407865#Comment_118407865

What is this supposed to mean? Are you trying to insult me somehow?

Potential-Monke · 02-01-2022 10:53PM

I have information I can't divulge due to my previous time as a Garda and I'm still bound by the Official Secrets Act and the Garda Code, so I'm not going to potentially breach them just to assuage some randomers desire. My position allowed me to be privy to information not available to the public. I'm just pointing out that there are more than 2 sides to every story, in McCabes case I'd suggest there are multiple, but the media only care and report about 1 side.

Maybe it was my wording. Not an angel. He was no paragon and not a role model Garda he's being made out to be. He was treated very badly, I'll agree with that, but I disagree with this pillar-of-what-a-Garda-should-be persona he's been given. That's all I'm disputing. It's like using George Floyd as the poster boy for BLM. Yeah, he's there because he was the one involved, but he was no paragon either.

Fact is, this is still under investigation. We don't know all the facts, and I've seen other threads closed for far less ~~speculation~~ discussion on an open investigation within Ireland. Members are suspended but not necessarily guilty, and the force is very pro-suspension these days. I will stand by any findings, and I've always said that any Garda who breaks the law is not representative of the entire force, which these threads always turn in to. Horrible people exist in every walk of life, AGS is no different. Power corrupts. AGS is no different. Humans be humans. AGS is no different. Every job has bad examples of professionals, but we don't call every professional footballer a rapist because of the the actions of Mendy et al. Oh look, that's still under investigation too.

jimwallace197 · 02-01-2022 11:25PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118408077#Comment_118408077

You make some fair points. And this thread is not about Maurice McCabe but to say he was treated very badly is an understatement in the extreme. His own force tried to frame him for child abuse because he was a whistle-blower. Thats not being treated badly, thats outrageous, a gross abuse of power, criminality, amongst many other things & it went to the very top including the previous two commissioners before Harris. Yet, no one has so much as lost a job for these actions.

No one expects gards to be angels but we expect them to uphold the law, to enforce the law & to set an example. This is why they are given the privileged position in society that they have. If you cant do that, be another normal joe soap like the rest of us minus the lucrative pension/benefits of course.

Casting aspersions on someones character is a very easy thing to do. We dont know what you supposedly know about Maurice McCabe or even if thats true.

Yes, horrible people do exist within the AGS which we knew already but when those type of people are protected, covered up for, indiscretions swept under the rug, it further damages the entire credibility of the force. If good gards want to root out the bad ones, open it to a proper governing authority (not gsoc who have no real powers), wear cameras, & lets root out the scum. But that doesn't seem to be what the majority of gards want going by what their unions are saying.

02-01-2022 11:32PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118408251#Comment_118408251

Nobody in AGS tried to frame him for child abuse.

And GSOC have massive powers, I don't know why you think they don't!

02-01-2022 11:34PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118407865#Comment_118407865

And I'm still waiting for an answer as to what this post means?

Potential-Monke · 02-01-2022 11:37PM

I think every Garda has been crying out for body cams. We were when I left back around 2016. My opinions are just to point out that it's never black and white, from either side, but every Garda gets thrown under the bus for the actions of a few (in regard to the total number). But the thing is, the same is happening everywhere, but people seem to have more vitriol for Gardai. The church, government, the GAA, unions, HSE, banks... they're all at it and in positions of power given to them by the people, but again the Gardai are the worst.

Of the many reasons I left, one of them was the incessant increase on labeling all Gardai the same. I did my best to be a good Garda, but it's one of the hardest jobs I've ever worked. Everyone is out to get you, you can't do any right, everyone knows your job better than you (fact: most people DON'T know their rights), management against you, media against you, public mainly against you. I don't know how other still do it, even for the money/benefits (which for the regular Garda is not "golden", that's reserved for higher management). It has shocking mental health support too.

And I'm not casting aspirations, I'm saying there are multiple sides to his story. I can't go into detail, but I'm not asking you to believe me. I'm just saying there are multiple sides, paragon he is not. It's my opinion. On an opinion board. In a forum called IMHO. People will choose not to believe my opinion, but will also choose to label all Gardai the same. That's the issue I have with every Garda bashing thread. Just like I'd imagine this extortion "ring" is a handful of idiots. IMHO.

jimwallace197 · 02-01-2022 11:52PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118408329#Comment_118408329

Again, some fair points, but the gards can literally ruin someones life based on little more than their word & how they've investigated a crime (they can choose to leave in or leave out what they they think will fit their narrative & this does happen). The GAA, unions, banks can definitely make ones life more difficult but its nothing in comparison to what the gards can do & we both know this.

Every job has its difficulties and the majority of people know the kind of scum some gards have to deal with on a regular basis. In saying that, if you're not able to handle scum, again, dont sign up for the job, nobody is forcing a gard to become a gard. But, the gards certainly arent having any recruitment issues, there's even a thread on boards here on how to sign up to be one. That would suggest to me that things arent so tough for the majority as what you might have gone through. The force is rife with nepotism, with covering up for their own, with corruption, with sweeping things under the carpet, etc etc & this is where they are losing the trust of the public.

Again, in relation to McCabe, no one is saying he is paragon of virtue but he did an incredibly noble thing which he deserves to be applauded for against a very powerful force in this country which subsequently tried to ruin him. What he went through, you, I or bubblepop will never able to fully understand.

03-01-2022 12:08AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118407865#Comment_118407865

So no answer as to what this post means..........

Fakediamond · 03-01-2022 07:35AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118402759#Comment_118402759

So what is the implication here? That those Gardai were working as enforcers for drug bosses? Targeting certain drivers on behalf of a rival drugs gang? I mean it doesn’t sound remotely plausible that they’d carry out an illegal search to steal the meagre wages of a delivery driver.

Esel · 03-01-2022 08:10AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118409166#Comment_118409166

If drugs were involved, there could have been a cash stash.

Dempo1 · 03-01-2022 08:30AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118409166#Comment_118409166

I don't believe there was any enforcing going on at all, if as, is being suggested the food delivery person was a master criminal / Drug Mule or indeed both searches deemed legal, why then internal investigations, why then information on interactions and searches not uploaded onto pulse, why and only after enquires commenced after a complaint made was information uploaded on to pulse, why then an internal investigation, why indeed a number of suspensions and the new anti corruption unit involved. There's more holes in this story than Swiss cheese.

I'd be pretty confident the cash (Alledgedly stolen) was hard earned money earned and saved by the food delivery person, perhaps to send home etc.

It is not only utterly absurd indeed convenient to turn facts into fiction by suggesting the (Let's call her a Victim at this stage) was involved in any illegal behaviour, indeed it could be suggested she'd be a bigger fool for making an official complaint, drawing attention to herself if she was guilty of anything.

There's enough Reporting to suggest this investigation going one way and as far as I'm aware the victim has not been arrested nor charged with any offences, another little matter some choose to ignore.

Potential-Monke · 03-01-2022 08:59AM

I believe you should find the answers to all your questions at the end of the investigation. Should. Not always the case. But one thing I will mention re: why the new anti corruption unit are involved. Because they're new and Harris likes to be seen to be "doing something". Like when GSOC started off gung-ho in the beginning.

mikethecop · 03-01-2022 12:33PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118409166#Comment_118409166

no idea chap , i was just showing another poster that delivery drivers are frequently involved in the delivery of drugs , as myself and other non agenda driven posters have said , wait for the investigation to figure out what went on.

Muahahaha · 03-01-2022 02:58PM

If it was a shake down of a drugs operation then that is even worse for the Gardai concerned becasue it would mean yet again Gardai are involved in the drug trade. We already had them facilitating an international heroin trafficking operation with Kieran Boylan and then theres that ex Garda who was caught with a massive amount of weed and who was getting information on active drug investigations from currently serving Gardai. Then theres the mess in Limerick as well where Gardai are alleged to have been feeding information to a known criminal drugs gang and they said they have CCTV of a Garda inspector snorting lines of coke in a pub. These are only the cases we know of becasue they got caught, tip of the iceberg Id say.

In any case its just as likely to be an immigration shake down as it is as drugs one. There are literally thousands of foreigners here who came on student visas and overstayed. Many of them work in food delivery and they rent out the accounts of riders who are here legally, it why when you order on Deliveroo you might be expecting a male to show up but its a female. The same scam also goes on in the taxi business, one immigrant will be legal and renting out his car to two other illegal immigrants to keep it on the road 24/7

AndrewJRenko · 03-01-2022 03:25PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118410496#Comment_118410496

It's very hard to drive a taxi outside of the necessary regulations. Do you not think the NTA notice if the same driver is clocking on duty 24x7? And every passenger can access the Driver Check app. And Gardai and NTA do checkpoints on a fairly regular basis.

Muahahaha · 03-01-2022 03:31PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118410629#Comment_118410629

Its not as hard as you think and it has been going on, sure Ive been in taxis myself where the person driving is not the person in the photo on the license on the dashboard. The NTA have only being ramping up checks recently and they've been catching people in the act. But it is still going on. Source: I know a guy who runs a taxi rental company and its a big problem for him to rent a car and later find out its been on the road 24/7 because its being used by more than one driver. The system isnt as tight as you say.

AndrewJRenko · 03-01-2022 03:39PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118410661#Comment_118410661

Did you report the driver?

They have to clock on/off to the app when they start and end work now, so if the registered driver is shown as working 24x7, someone is going to notice.

Muahahaha · 03-01-2022 04:01PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118410705#Comment_118410705

no I didnt report the driver, its none of my business and theyre only trying to earn a crust. Like I know a couple of Deliveroo riders as well who are visa overstayers and Im not going to rat them out either. Im sure many of us here have had friends or family working illegally in the US at some stage or the other, its the same thing and none of my business to ruin the life of someone who is just trying to improve theirs.

Im aware of the new rules of app login but theres nothing actually preventing them not logging in which I can only presume an immigrant working illegally wouldnt do anyway. The only way they are getting caught is red handed by an NTA inspector, they need to catch them in the act anyway to prosecute them. Even if they used the app and it showed up anomaly they still have to track them down regardless. I just know taxi sharing is a problem and it goes on in the migrant community, my mate has had to take cars off renters over it becasue they are coming back with thousands more kilometres on them than one person could conceivably drive in a week. And then his company is down money for extra wear and tear and new tyres, brake pads, clutches, brake discs, etc.

Anyway this is way off topic so Im leaving it there.

AndrewJRenko · 03-01-2022 04:42PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118410833#Comment_118410833

There's huge safety issues around unregistered drivers - are they actually qualified to drive? Are they qualified to drive a taxi? Have they been Garda vetted? I wouldn't want one of my female relatives to be driven home by an unregistered driver. It's a bit more serious than bringing your pizza.

If they don't log in, their meter receipts will show activity when they're not supposed to be driving, which again, will bring them to attention. I'd have thought that your mate would be adjusting his prices rather than taking the car back.

03-01-2022 09:59PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118399142#Comment_118399142

Great summery,brill consise post,1000 times better than i could manage

Would this garda sargent,whom done initial stop,while aparently off duty (plain clothed) and what are implications/protocols around this behaviour,given that murder of a young woman in uk last year

May be time for gaurds to update their protocols and get ahead of this issue imo

03-01-2022 10:04PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118413006#Comment_118413006

I believe he was working. Not that that makes it better!

04-01-2022 03:11PM

I can't edit previous post but want to clarify i was wrong to say if Garda are invited in to a dwelling they do not need warrant to search

foxsake · 04-01-2022 03:14PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118405920#Comment_118405920

once a garda always a garda.

the poster used to be a garda therefore always on brand

04-01-2022 05:49PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118416119#Comment_118416119

Ok, I must still be a waitress then!

Potential-Monke · 05-01-2022 09:04PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118416119#Comment_118416119

Yeah, this kind of mentality is part of why I left. I'm not longer one, never want to be one again. I just like to defend the innocent, that's all. Every Garda thread, every Garda gets blamed. I'm giving my opinion on my personal and professional experience, and it's not what most anti-Garda people on here would have you believe. I will stand behind any investigation and prosecution once it's done properly.