Gardaí have launched another murder inquiry in Dublin, their second in six days, after a gangland figure involved in the drugs trade was found shot dead yesterday.
This follows last weekend's murder of Donna Cleary, who was killed when shots were fired into a house in Coolock where she was attending a birthday party.
The latest killing will ensure that crime remains near the top of the current political agenda. Minister for Justice Michael McDowell yesterday said his own record in resourcing the criminal justice system was "second to none".
"The events of last weekend are horrific and, as I've said before, I have no difficulty in being politically accountable for the criminal justice system," he told a Progressive Democrats function in Dublin.
"But what I find hard to swallow is the naked attempt by the leader of Fine Gael to grandstand and score cheap political points on this very serious issue, presiding as he does over a party which opposed the introduction of mandatory sentences for drug offences in the first instance."
Mr McDowell said the Rainbow coalition government had stopped a prison building programme, opposed legislation to restrict serious criminals being granted bail, and failed to properly resource An Garda Síochána.
The man found shot yesterday in a laneway off Blackhorse Avenue in the north inner city was named as 28-year-old Sé Bradley, a criminal figure known to gardaí. He was on bail after recently being charged in connection with the shooting of an innocent man in a botched gangland murder attempt.
Gardaí discovered his body at noon yesterday. Originally from Derry, he had been living in Dublin's north inner city for some time. He was a cocaine user and drug dealer, and was linked to a number of west Dublin drugs gangs.
While gardaí were only alerted at noon yesterday by a local resident, subsequent inquires revealed that a number of loud bangs were heard in the area at around 9pm on Thursday. Gardaí believe he may have been killed at this time. He was shot three times in the upper body.
Sources said he may have been murdered by an associate who feared he was about to disclose information to gardaí about drug dealing or shootings he had been paid to carry out.
Bradley, who claimed to be in the INLA, was facing five charges in relation to the shooting of a man in Pollyhops Pub, Newcastle, Dublin, last September. A gunman walked into the pub, singled out the wrong man and shot him in the groin. The victim survived. Six weeks later the intended victim, Owen McCarthy (22), from Clondalkin, was shot dead in a row over drugs and his remains were dumped in Wicklow.
Bradley was arrested immediately after the Pollyhops shooting after crashing the getaway car. He was charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition and with assisting his accomplice. He is believed to have taken part in the shooting to pay off a drugs debt.
Meanwhile, gardaí are continuing their investigation into the shooting dead of Donna Cleary. It emerged during the week that Dwayne Foster, the man whom gardaí believe fired the fatal shots, would have been in prison serving a three-month jail term if a bench warrant had been received and executed by gardaí. Foster died in Garda custody from natural causes on Tuesday following his arrest with four other people for questioning about the murder. The other four have been released.
It has also emerged that another man whom gardaí believe was centrally involved in the killing could also have been in prison at the time. This man was convicted of possessing £150,000 worth of drugs in 2000 but rather than being sentenced to the mandatory 10-year term for such a quantity, a judge exercised discretion and imposed a six-year tariff instead. Gardaí in Coolock are still questioning one man in relation to the murder.
