On Tuesday morning, the country awoke to news that a house fire in Waterford had claimed the lives of four members of the same family.
Within hours of the blaze, Gardaí ruled out an accidental cause and upgraded the investigation to a murder inquiry.
Though the investigation is at an early stage, detectives believe the attack was related to a drug debt. It’s thought a petrol bomb was thrown at the front door of the house, in an effort to intimidate the family.
In recent years, the number of petrol bomb attacks on Irish homes has risen sharply. It's been described as 'the new epidemic'.
So who’s carrying out these attacks? How difficult are they to investigate and why are drug gangs turning to petrol bombs to intimidate and extort?
Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally has the latest.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
","author_name":"The Irish Times"}