Inquiry as friends of murdered man go missing

GARDAÍ ARE investigating the disappearance of two friends of Anthony Foster, who was murdered outside his home in north Dublin…

GARDAÍ ARE investigating the disappearance of two friends of Anthony Foster, who was murdered outside his home in north Dublin last month.

Mr Foster (34) was killed by a single shot to the head as he left his top-floor flat in Cromcastle Court in Coolock with his partner on July 18th. The pair were going to the local creche to collect their children.

The killer left Mr Foster on the balcony of the flats and escaped on a waiting motorcycle, which gardaí believe was stolen a short while earlier from a motorcycle shop on the Malahide Road.

A Garda spokesman declined to comment yesterday on the disappearance of two of Mr Foster's acquaintances, though it is understood they are missing for more than a week and gardaí in Dublin are investigating.

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Mr Foster was sentenced to six years in prison in 2001 for handling cannabis resin valued at £30,000 in April 2000. The court heard at that time that £20,000 found at Mr Foster's home was the proceeds of drug dealing.

Gardaí are investigating a link between his death and the attempted murder of a Dublin man in Darndale on July 4th.

The 21-year-old was shot in the neck and back as he sat in the driver's seat of a car at Buttercup Park. A gunman walked up to the car and fired shots through the window. He was taken to Beaumont Hospital and received emergency surgery.

A 20-month-old baby who was in the back seat of the car was taken by ambulance to Temple Street hospital. He was treated for wounds caused by shattered glass.

Gardaí believe they know the identity of the attacker and also the motive for the attempted murder. The victim had just been released from prison, where he was serving a sentence for abusing his former partner and their child.

Two people were questioned by gardaí but were later released without charge. A file on the case will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Ruadhán Mac Cormaic

Ruadhán Mac Cormaic

Ruadhán Mac Cormaic is the Editor of The Irish Times