A criminal has been arrested moments after being released from prison and is being questioned about the murder of Real IRA figure Alan Ryan.
The arrested man is in his 20s and is from Coolock, north Dublin. He is closely aligned to a leading drug-dealer from a middle-class north Dublin suburb who is believed to have worked with another Dublin gang leader to organise and pay for Ryan’s murder.
Ryan, who had served time in prison for firearms offences linked to his membership of the Real IRA, was shot on September 3rd at Grange Lodge Avenue, Clongriffin, north Dublin.
He had led Real IRA extortion demands on drugs gangs in Dublin and gardaí believe some of those gangs conspired to kill him as a result.
Four people have previously been arrested for questioning about the murder of Ryan (31). The man held yesterday is suspected of a more central involvement in the murder.
He was arrested outside Mountjoy Prison on release from a sentence for road traffic offences. He was held under section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act for questioning at Coolock Garda station.