THE ONGOING claims over ominous black wreaths being sent to alleged drug dealers in the east of the county has been denied by those rumours to alleged to be responsible.
Republican Sinn Féin have weighed in on an ongoing alleged drugs problem in towns and villages of Donagh, Roslea, Newtownbutler and Lisnaskea Fermanagh, by denying their members are responsible for placing black wreaths at the homes of local people suspected of dealing.
Conflicting reports about the scale of the drugs problem in east Fermanagh have been circulating for several months now with some people the Herald have spoken to telling us they are “too scared” to put their names to the reports.
And, because the one-time republican tactic of warning off drug dealers and other criminals by issuing them with a black wreath is, by its very nature secretive and anonymous, the Herald has been unable to ascertain who, if anyone, received a black wreath, how many were issued and who is the organisation behind them.
One local representative, who did not wished to be named said, “For the first time, I am genuinely afraid. I’m scared for my children and the young people around here.”
Meanwhile, Republican Sinn Féin have issued a statement denying their members were responsible for “Fermanagh incidents … where members of RSF were accused of placing wreaths or ribbons at people’s homes” which would suggest local knowledge is that homes have been visited and the sinister wreath-laying has taken place.
The Herald contacted police over the alleged drugs problem and asked, on two occasions, if they were aware of black wreaths. The PSNI told this newspaper they “had nothing on the black wreath rumours” and instead said they remain committed to tackling the drugs problem which pervades Fermanagh, as in every area of Northern Ireland, through their “Operation Dealbreaker”, a specialist multi-agency taskforce set up to deal with drugs crime culture.
To read more on this story see this week’s Fermanagh Herald. Can’t get to the shop to collect your copy? No problem! You can download a copy straight to your device by following this link https://bit.ly/3gOl8G0
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