Ammo find as Irishmen held in Bulgaria

Barry Duggan

A LIMERICK criminal and his brother have been arrested after police surrounded their Bulgarian hideout.

Vincent (33) and Jonathan (25) Collopy, from St Mary's Park, Limerick, were arrested by police in Bulgaria at a resort complex on the Black Sea.

Police said a cache of drugs, cash and ammunition was recovered.

Vincent Collopy has been on the run from gardai in Limerick since 2010 after two of his brothers threatened to kill a former associate.

Police in Bulgaria surrounded the brothers' hideout yesterday at Sunny Beach -- the biggest sea resort in the country -- where the pair were cornered and arrested. The Herald understands that a European Arrest Warrant had been issued for Vincent as part of a garda investigation and it is expected that he will be extradited to Ireland.

Jonathan Collopy could yet face charges in Bulgaria.

The pair were arrested in Czech Republic 10 days ago, but were later released by Prague police.

Escaped

Previously, Vincent Collopy narrowly escaped arrest while hiding out in Manchester shortly after he fled Limerick.

Both brothers are convicted drug dealers who were jailed in 2006 for three years each after they were caught selling cocaine and heroin to undercover gardai from a house in St Mary's Park in 2004.

They come from a well-known criminal gang in Limerick who have been involved in the city's feud since it erupted in 2000. Last May, Kieran Collopy (35) and Damian Collopy (21) of St Ita's Street, St Mary's Park, Limerick, were both jailed for five years for threatening to kill Willie Moran, a former associate.

hnews@herald.ie