RIVAL DRUG-DEALER BLAMED FOR MURDER OF DUBLIN MAN

A rival drug-dealer from Blanchardstown in Dublin is believed responsible
for the murder of Paschal Boland (43), who was shot dead at his Co Dublin
home. Boland is understood to have been involved in a dispute recently with
the drug-dealer over the supply of cannabis in Blanchardstown.

Gardai suspect the other man, who was himself the victim of a drug-related
shooting, was seeking to prevent Boland from spreading his drug supply
network.

An assailant shot Boland as he arrived in his car at his home in Ashcroft
Court, Mulhuddart, at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday. He was taken to James
Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown but was declared dead an hour
later.

The murder is the second fatal gang-related shooting in north Dublin in
three weeks and gardai suspect the lull in gang-related violence in Dublin
that followed the Veronica Guerin murder may now be ending.

According to detective sources in north and west Dublin, "turf wars"
(disputes over drugs supply areas) are beginning to break out again in
increasing numbers and there is a growing tendency for dealers to threaten
each other with firearms. There are also signs of increasing use of guns in
drug-related disputes in the city.

There have been at least 30 shootings in Dublin in the past year and Boland
is the fourth person to be killed in a drugs-related murder since last June.

The first was of these was Sinead Kelly, a 21-year-old heroin addict and
prostitute, who was stabbed to death on the banks of the Grand Canal in June
last year.

On November 21st last Gerard Moran, a man with a record of assault and other
violent crime, was shot dead as he delivered take-away food in Drumcondra in
north Dublin. There are suspicions Moran might have been shot dead by IRA
figures in the north inner city as he had disputes with republicans involved
in anti-drugs activities.

Three weeks ago, John Dillon, who acted as a getaway driver for armed
robbers, was shot dead in Finglas by a member of a criminal family.

The three killings, along with other attempted murders and shootings,
reflect a reverse of the trend since 1996.

The last previous organised crime-related murder in Dublin before Sinead
Kelly's was that of Eamon O'Reilly, who was shot dead in a dispute in the
Tower Inn, Finglas, in January 1998.

This contrasts with the situation before Ms Guerin's murder in June 1996. In
the five months before her death there were three gang-related murders in
the city.

In 1995 there were seven gang-related killings.