Two men aged in their 20s have been arrested in connection with a gangland killing in Dublin last year.
Michael ‘Micka’ Kelly (30) from Swans Nest Road, in Kilbarrack, was shot dead after he was ambushed by two men with guns on the Clongriffin estate in Coolock, north Dublin on September 15th.
Kelly was a convicted drug dealer who had been targeted by the Criminal Assets Bureau. He had emerged as one of Dublin’s most significant drug dealers and gang leaders in recent years and was suspected of ordering a number of gangland murders.
He had spent most of the year prior to his death hiding in the Netherlands and Spain from his many gangland enemies in Dublin. He had, however, returned to Dublin to spend time with his partner and new baby. It was while on a visit to them that he was ambushed.
Investigating officers believe Kelly was shot from inside the killers’ car by one of the gunmen before his armed accomplice got out and shot the victim again as he lay wounded on the ground to make sure he was dead.
The car used by the killers was found abandoned in Clonshaugh, north Dublin, just over a mile from the crime scene.
The Real IRA in Dublin are among the suspects for the killing. However, gardaí said the dead man had made many enemies through his long involvement in organised crime.
The two men arrested today were detained in north Dublin and are currently being held under Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act 1939 at Ballymun Garda station.