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Irish authorities continue to track the movements of a fugitive gang boss who escaped from Kilkenny Garda Station through an unlocked door in late September.
Detectives now believe the 42-year-old criminal is living in Türkiye, where he has property interests and access to cash despite ongoing threats from rival groups.
The fugitive walked out of Kilkenny Garda Station on the evening of Sept. 22 after a consultation with his solicitor.
Sources described the unlocked door as a “pure fluke”. The national police had held him for four days and questioned him about directing the activities of an organized crime group, an offence that can lead to a life sentence.
Investigators said four getaway vehicles waited for him that night. A red VW Golf recorded on high-quality CCTV was seized the next morning.
A man in his 40s, described as a junior gang member, was arrested for aiding and abetting the escape. The police released him shortly afterward and plan to send a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
After the escape, officers suspected that the gang boss had left Ireland with help from his network. They circulated alerts to all airports and ports and began a national manhunt.
New information shows that he used a false passport to reach the United Kingdom within days and then travelled to Türkiye with the same document.
The fugitive leads a drug distribution network that supplies cocaine and cannabis across Co Kilkenny and into neighbouring counties Carlow and Tipperary.
Detectives believe the gang has about 20 members, including several women.
He recently lost a five-figure sum after a former trusted associate deceived him, as reported by Sunday World. The police officers described the situation as ironic because his own gang has a record of ripping off other criminal groups.
Four members of his gang received National Police Information Message forms in September, which warned individuals about threats to their lives.
The gang remains in conflict with former members of the INLA who operate in west Dublin. Police officers believe the dispute relates to a drug-related rip-off involving a six-figure sum.
These rival criminals already carried out murders, including the killing of burglary gang boss “Fat” Andy Connors more than a decade ago. Detectives fear that the same INLA-linked group may attempt to kill the fugitive if they locate him abroad.
Because of the escalating threat, a close female associate of the gang boss fled to Spain in recent weeks. Investigators believe she left Ireland because she no longer receives protection from him. They said she has not joined him in Türkiye.
In a separate development in Ireland’s security landscape, police officers arrested a man in his 30s on Wednesday in Co Laois as part of an investigation into cross-border terrorism.
He is the third suspect detained in this ongoing inquiry.
The arrest follows two earlier detentions last week. One man appeared in court charged with possessing components for three pipe bomb type devices and four incendiary-type IEDs at his home in Northern Ireland.
Another man faced charges for possessing four threaded pipe end caps and six litres of hydrogen peroxide at a location in Portlaoise.
The Special Detective Unit continues to lead the investigation.
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