Updated 17:02

Gardaí believe countless lives have been saved by an ongoing crack-down on organised crime in Dublin over the past year.

At least ten men have been murdered since the Regency Airport Hotel shooting in Dublin last year as rival gang factions engage in an all-out feud.

However, senior gardaí have said they have been making massive progress in the fight against organised crime over the past 12 months.

At special briefing on organised crime this morning, Garda Commissioner Noírín O'Sullivan said drugs, arms and cash worth millions of Euro have been seized over the past year.

Over the past 12 months, the gardaí made drug seizures totalling more than €64m and confiscated 456 firearms - including 36 sub-machine guns and assault rifles.

Gang violence

“We are very conscious particularly of the recent feuding activities and indeed organised crime,” said Commissioner O’Sullivan.

“A murder when it happens impacts not just the families who are immediately affected but also the communities where those murders occur.

“I would like to thank the community right around the country, particularly in the north inner city and here in the city, for the support that they have given us and the understanding that they have shown to us in doing the work that we have to do.”

Armed gardaí

The fight against organised crime has also seen a scaling up of armed garda units - with over 22,000 armed checkpoints set up and over 2,000 armed patrols walking the streets.

“The firearms make sure that we decrease [gangs] capability for causing harm to each other - but also from causing harm to communities,” said Commissioner O’Sullivan. “Certainly some of the covert disruptive actions we have taken have certainly resulted in lives being saved.”

“We have over €2m worth of cash seized and a number of assets frozen and that is very significant in making sure that we follow the money and we degrade and dismantle these groups.”

File photo of an armed garda support unit, 27-10-2016. Image: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews

Detective Superintendent Tony Howard who leads the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau said the number of lives that have been saved is “incalculable.”

He said local communities have been a huge support in the fight against gang violence and said people should not be afraid.

“I would reassure all the communities not just in Dublin but outside of Dublin, if people have information they can give it anonymously,” he said.