Garda National Surveillance Unit
Encyclopedia
The Garda National Surveillance Unit (NSU) is the covert, intelligence gathering and surveillance
operations unit of An Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland
. The unit operates out of the Crime and Security section based at Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park
, Dublin. Members of the unit are specially trained and selected Detective Gardaí who are tasked to remain covert and inconspicuous whilst on duty, often tracking subversive activity, drug-trafficking and other serious crimes. The unit's detectives are armed with concealable Walther P99C
semi-automatic pistols.
vehicle in Lucan
, County Dublin
where a raider was shot and killed by an NSU detective and the Abbeyleix
bank robbery attempt in 2001, where a member of the unit, Detective Sergeant John Eiffe lost his life following an accidental shooting from a bullet ricochet
by a member of the Emergency Response Unit
. The unit came under scrutiny during the investigation of the Omagh Bombing
in 1998, where Detective Sergeant John White claimed that the Gardaí had failed to act on information it received from a reliable informant
about the bombing before it occurred and furthermore failed to pass on any such information to the RUC
.
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
operations unit of An Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. The unit operates out of the Crime and Security section based at Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses , one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the seventeenth...
, Dublin. Members of the unit are specially trained and selected Detective Gardaí who are tasked to remain covert and inconspicuous whilst on duty, often tracking subversive activity, drug-trafficking and other serious crimes. The unit's detectives are armed with concealable Walther P99C
Walther P99
The Walther P99 is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the German company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm for law enforcement, security forces and the civilian shooting market as a replacement for the Walther P5 and the P88...
semi-automatic pistols.
Activity
The unit has been involved in a number of high-profile Garda operations including the 2009 attempted robbery of a cash-in-transitCash-in-transit
Cash-in-transit or Cash/valuables-in-transit are terms used to refer to the physical transfer of banknotes, coins and items of value from one location to another....
vehicle in Lucan
Lucan
Lucan is the common English name of the Roman poet Marcus Annaeus Lucanus.Lucan may also refer to:-People:*Arthur Lucan , English actor*Sir Lucan the Butler, Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend...
, County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
where a raider was shot and killed by an NSU detective and the Abbeyleix
Abbeyleix
Abbeyleix is a town in County Laois, Ireland about from Portlaoise and located on the N77 national secondary route. Formerly the N8 National Primary Route ran through the centre of the town, making Abbeyleix an infamous bottleneck on the Dublin-Cork corridor with up to 15,000 vehicles passing...
bank robbery attempt in 2001, where a member of the unit, Detective Sergeant John Eiffe lost his life following an accidental shooting from a bullet ricochet
Ricochet
A ricochet is a rebound, bounce or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. The possibility of ricochet is one of the reasons for the common firearms safety rule "Never shoot at a flat, hard surface."-Variables:...
by a member of the Emergency Response Unit
Emergency Response Unit (Garda)
The Emergency Response Unit of the Garda Síochána is a specialist armed intervention unit under the Special Detective Unit, formed to deal with situations that cannot be handled by regular Garda officers.-History:...
. The unit came under scrutiny during the investigation of the Omagh Bombing
Omagh bombing
The Omagh bombing was a car bomb attack carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army , a splinter group of former Provisional Irish Republican Army members opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, on Saturday 15 August 1998, in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Twenty-nine people died as a...
in 1998, where Detective Sergeant John White claimed that the Gardaí had failed to act on information it received from a reliable informant
Kevin Fulton
"Kevin Fulton" is the pseudonym of Peter Keeley, a British agent from Newry, Northern Ireland who allegedly spied on the Provisional Irish Republican Army for British Military Intelligence....
about the bombing before it occurred and furthermore failed to pass on any such information to the RUC
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
.