Gardaí investigating the gangland murder of 27-year-old drug dealer Noel Roche in Clontarf, Dublin, on Tuesday night, yesterday arrested a man in Dublin's city centre in what is being seen as a major breakthrough for detectives.
The arrested man is believed to be the driver of the dark Ford Mondeo car in which Mr Roche was travelling when he was shot dead by passing assailants.
The driver, whose name has not been officially released, is thought to be in his early 30s and is from Crumlin, Dublin. He staggered from the scene of the shooting at about 10.30pm on Tuesday near the Yacht pub on Clontarf road.
Supt Nicholas Conneely said last night the arrested man was being held for questioning in Raheny under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.
This allows him to be detained for up to 72 hours without charge.
Gardaí last night refused to confirm whether the man being held was the driver of the vehicle in which Mr Roche was travelling when he was killed, and would not comment on the significance of the arrest.
The man did not turn himself into gardaí.
Chief Supt Peter Maguire, who is heading the investigation, said last night that he was "satisfied with developments in general so far. We are very pleased with the response we got to our appeals for people to come forward".
"We are proceeding with maximum expedition to bring the situation to a conclusion . . . the gardaí have the resolution to all of the problems."
Garda sources stressed the arrest was a major breakthrough in the investigation into the death of Mr Roche, and the four-year-old gangland feud.
Earlier yesterday there had been speculation that the driver of the car had been abducted by the perpetrators of the shooting.
There were concerns that he may have been a target for the gang that killed Mr Roche. Gardaí were also unsure whether he had been injured in Tuesday's attack.
They were also known to be investigating the possibility that Mr Roche was shot as he returned from a Phil Collins concert in the nearby Point Depot.
So far, seven people, including Mr Roche's brother, John, have died in the gangland feud.
This prompted Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy to allocate an extra 50 officers on Wednesday to tackle organised crime in the Dublin area.