Gardai fear cousins shot on orders of ‘drug tax’ brothers

Irish Herald
Gardai fear cousins shot on orders of ‘drug tax’ brothers


By Cormac Byrne, CRIME DESK

Friday November 26 2010

GARDAI fear the two cousins gunned down in Tesco were victims of a RIRA gang enforcing a 'drugs tax'.

The Republican gang has been demanding a 20pc cut of drugs profits from all Dublin's major criminal outfits -- including 'Fat' Freddie's gang.

It's now thought the unemployed cousins were murdered because they refused to hand over money to the RIRA gang, led by three brothers.

Mark Noonan (23) and Glen Murphy (19) were executed in a hail of 15 bullets after stopping at the Tesco filling station in Clearwater, Finglas.

The Republican brothers who are leading the Real IRA racketeering gang were kicked out of the Continuity IRA and also have links to an INLA protection gang. They have been attempting to control the pub door security business in Dublin to run the weekend “recreational” drugs market in the city.

More recently they have approached all the major crime gangs, including ‘Fat Freddie’ Thompson’s outfit, and one major hotelier demanding a 20pc slice of all their takings.

“They are seriously violent. They are capable of anything. Now you see them in the frame for taking out two low-level gang members. What’s next?” said a senior source today.

The victims were thought to be 'bag men' for a drugs gang.

Gardai came within seconds of catching the three killers in a 06D BMW 5 Series but the gunmen were able to shake off the pursuing patrol car, reaching speeds of 200kph. The getaway car was heading in the direction of Dundalk on the M1 when it was lost.

Gardai are looking into the phone records of both of the deceased to determine whether they were lured to their deaths.

CCTV footage shows the two gunmen and an accomplice entering the forecourt of the filling station and driving around a number of times five minutes before the killing.

Gardai suspect that this evidence could prove the murdered cousins were ambushed.

“The Real IRA gang led by the brothers has been involved in several murders to date.

“They have been threatening so-called ODCs (ordinary decent criminals) demanding cash,” said a source.

Grenades

“Just recently ‘Fat Freddie’ Thompson was tooling up with grenades, rocket launchers and AK47s to take on this outfit and protect his own patch,” the source added.

The murdered cousins did not have connections with any of the major drugs gangs in the city. Gardai are examining whether the victims had called to the murder scene by arrangement — but their behaviour suggests they were not aware of the killers' presence.

An examination of the two men's phones should confirm what calls they either made or received in the hours before their murders. A 60-strong garda team, consisting of local gardai and officers from National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI), is investigating the puzzling killing.

Gardai have said that the possibility the men were killed in a case of mistaken identity was slim given the nature of the hit.

“The clinical nature of the shootings indicates that this was a very well-organised hit and it would be very surprising if they made such a basic error,” an officer said.

Detectives are also examining both victims' backgrounds to see of they were involved in any personal disputes.

One of the men’s aunts, Barbara Murphy, said the family were “simply devastated”. “Mark's girlfriend is in such shock that she collapsed a few times. We don't know why this happened but we want whoever did this caught,” she said.

The grief-stricken mothers, sisters Geraldine and Michelle, are now staying with another sister as they attempt to cope with their loss. Gardai are appealing for anyone with information to contact the incident room at Finglas Garda Station on 01- 6667532, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.

- Cormac Byrne, CRIME DESK