Residents’ lives on Navan estate being made ‘hell’ by gangs

Drug dealing, attempted break-ins and threats of stabbings are making life hell for residents of the Millbrook Estate in Johnstown.

"We have seen them openly dealing drugs in broad daylight, there have been incidents where youths have tried to kick the doors of houses in, if you say anything to them, they threaten to 'Stick you'" said one local resident.

Residents are afraid to identify themselves for fear of reprisals from the gangs of 10 to 15 youths, most in their 20s who gather in the estate day after day and night after night.

"It gets even worse in holiday time, when you have young teenagers tagging along with the older ones. One night last week, a group of youths tried to get into one of the houses. One of them seemed to be armed with a knife.

"We have set up a WhatsApp group so residents to look out for each other. Every single night, there are messages popping up because something is happening," he said.

"The end of the apartments is used for drug dealing. The same group stands there waiting, while people come and go buying from them.

"Some of them spray painted a big swastika at the end of the apartments. One man asked them to stop and they threatened to stab him.

"There are a lot of children living in this area, but none of them are allowed out to play any more. People even afraid to leave their ground floor windows open. It's a nightmare. It is absolutely ridiculous. It has got to the point the residents are scared to live here.

"There is a green area but the dealers are using it, so families aren't using it any more.

Cllr Emer Tóibín said the problems had escalated in the last few weeks.

"There were problems there for years, but it had got quieter, but in the last few weeks it is so much worse than it ever was before.

"Somebody had to barricade himself into his own home one night last week. It was a very scary incident."

Cllr Tóibín said that in the past, she has walked through the area and could smell the drugs. "I walked down there on a summer’s evening and could get the smell of drugs. I've had a lot of constituents come to me from that area.

"People are reluctant to confront them or ask them to move on and parents won't let their children out in the evenings."

Cllr Yemi Adenuga said there were problems over the last few months and years and they seem to have escalated over the past few weeks.

"I have raised this at Joint Policing Committee meetings and it has also been raised by other councillors.

"The Gardai are doing their best, but we have to look at alternative solutions - maybe even get young people to come up with solutions," she said.

A spokesperson for Navan Gardai said they were conscious of the problem and had made a number of minor drug seizures. "It is one of a number of areas we have been concentrating on.

"While there is drug dealing there, you also have a lot of young people hanging around that aren't involved," he said.