SIX PEOPLE, including three women and a 16-year-old youth, have been arrested for questioning about a feud-related gangland murder in which the body was dumped in a shallow grave.
The six people were arrested yesterday morning in the Ballinacurra Weston area of Limerick city. They were still being questioned last night about the murder of James Cronin (21) in April.
Mr Cronin’s body was found in a shallow grave on waste ground close to Hyde Road and Caledonian Park. A postmortem revealed he had been shot in the head.
His death is linked to the ongoing feud in Limerick city. Mr Cronin was a known associate of members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang, some of whom are currently in prison for the murder of rival drug dealer Kieran Keane in 2003.
Gardaí believe Mr Cronin aided other members of the gang in carrying out a shooting just hours before he was shot dead.
Gardaí are working on the theory that the other members of the gang believed Mr Cronin was about to panic and provide information to gardaí about the earlier shooting.
Fearing he was about to turn informer the gang members shot him in the head and quickly buried his remains. The shallow grave was found on April 7th by gardaí searching for firearms.
A machine pistol, semi-automatic handgun and ammunition were found in the same location. However, gardaí do not believe the weapons were used to kill Mr Cronin.
The murder caused a split within the Dundon-McCarthy gang which led to fears there would be revenge shootings. In recent weeks, gardaí have informed members of the gang who are not in prison that their lives are in danger.
The six people arrested yesterday in connection with Mr Cronin’s killing were still being questioned last night at Roxboro, Mayorstone, Henry Street and Askeaton Garda stations, all in Limerick.
Two of the three males are in their 20s while the third is aged 16. The three women are in their early 20s.
All six reside in Ballinacurra Weston, where Mr Cronin also lived before he was shot dead.
They were all arrested under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and can be held without charge for up to 72 hours. None of the six arrested is a chief suspects for Mr Cronin’s murder.
However, all know the chief suspects and they were being questioned about the suspects’ movements at the time of the killing. They were also being questioned on suspicion of aiding the killers after the murder.
