Suspected drug kingpin arrested in Belgium

A MAN arrested in Belgium on suspicion of being involved in the wholesale supply of drugs is suspected of helping to orchestrate a bloody gang feud in Limerick that left numerous people dead and of many gang members in prison.

Jim O’Brien, a 41-year-old who once owned businesses in Limerick, fled the city at the height of the feud, following the January 2003 execution of leading gangster Kieran Keane.

Nicknamed ‘Chaser’, he is suspected of encouraging the McCarthy-Ryan faction in an attempt to secure for himself greater control over the supply of drugs into the city and the west. Prior to this, he maintained links with all factions.