Boy, 16, admits house and car attacks in Midlands drug-debt intimidation campaign

A 16-year-old boy, now 17, who worked for what the court heard was a dangerous "Fagin-like" criminal, planned and carried out attacks on houses and torched four cars in a drug-intimidation campaign across Westmeath, Offaly and Longford. 1 2 He pleaded guilty at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court to criminal damage and arson offences in 2025 targeting seven properties, and cannot be named because he is a juvenile. 1 2 Det Garda Kevin Lennon agreed with prosecutor Cathal Ó Braonáin that he was part of a team assembled to investigate arson and criminal damage connected to drug debts; the boy was charged after his home was searched and his phone seized in another investigation into a drug and firearm seizure, and videos and messages on the phone linked him to the incidents. 1 2

Judge Keenan Johnson called the incidents "really shocking and very, very disturbing" and said the case reminded him of Dickens's Fagin and his team of child offenders, but that such figures are "far more sinister and a lot more dangerous". 1 2 In Finea, Co Westmeath, a grandmother's car and van were set alight while she was at home with several family members including four grandchildren; she and neighbours fought to put out the flames, and she described the ordeal as terribly frightening, leaving the children hysterical. 1 2 A video on the boy's phone showed him burning a petrol can and gloves to destroy evidence, with victims' screams audible; messages discussed whether he would produce a gun if occupants came out, and he texted that they could not be caught because they wore balaclavas. He told gardaí he did not bring a pistol. 1 2

On 13 May 2025 a house in Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, had its windows smashed; in messages with an associate known as "D" or "Bob Marley" the two discussed whether to bring a firearm and mentioned a Glock. 1 2 The Irish Independent adds a fuller list of incidents: Tullamore on 9 February 2025, where the phone's search history showed he used Google Maps to find the house and he admitted scouting it; Rochfortbridge on 13 March; Mullingar on 18–19 March, 9 May (two vehicles set on fire) and 1 June, when a message told him to "get a nice video"; and insurance shortfalls on the Finea car and van, each valued at €7,000. 2 Victim impact statements included a woman who feared for her baby's life and another left living in fear, and some families had boarded-up windows until they could afford replacements. 1 2

Defence counsel John Hayden SC said the boy told gardaí he was afraid to speak out, believing he would end up dead, said "it was them or me", and was drawn in and pressured by people higher up the chain; the court heard he had scouted, planned or taken part in the incidents. 2 The case was adjourned to Friday, when the youth, who remains on bail, returns for sentencing on separate firearms and €7,000 drug possession charges. 1 2