Living on the edge catches up with the Zombie

BROKE, the subject of vicious lies he is a major drug dealer and the victim of a conspiracy to frame him that involves members of the Irish media and criminals involved in the murder of Veronica Guerin.

That’s how Tommy Savage would have us see him now. Or so it seemed in a shambling, muttering performance before a Dutch court yesterday.

Savage, a 53-year-old career criminal, has lived life on the very edge for more than 30 years. And it’s showing, according to reports from those who know him in Amsterdam.

With age, his nickname, the Zombie, becomes even more apt.

It’s been some journey from his early days flirting with republican para-military groups to those years in prison that probably saved his life, to his high life in the 1990s as a major link in the international drugs trade, to being the supposedly near destitute owner of a budget backpacker hotel in the centre of the Dutch city.

There was concern that Savage was released after his first appearance in court earlier this year. He was freed if he handed over his passport but it was felt he would have no problem finding another and fleeing.

It now appears he has nowhere to flee to and nothing to flee with.

Always personally likeable, he had a reputation for violence when crossed.

Savage, originally from Swords in Dublin, was briefly involved with the Official IRA in the early 1970s before joining INLA.

He served nine years in the INLA wing of Portlaoise Prison after being convicted of armed robbery. It was probably fortunate he was behind bars, as during that period those involved in the republican splinter group became embroiled in a series of internal feuds and at least three of his associates were shot dead.

Following his release, he severed official links with the paramilitary group but went into business as a drugs importer using contacts that included some of his former INLA associates.

In the early 1990s, he fled Ireland following the murder of one ex-INLA member. He was named by sources as a suspect but has always strenuously denied this. It is said the IRA were on his trail at this time. It was time to leave.

Following his move to Amsterdam, he became a key player in the drugs business, acting as a wholesaler for drugs shipments into Ireland. There were plenty of other Irish in the same business and he forged partnerships with some, including George ‘The Penguin’ Mitchell.

By the mid-1990s, and around the time he was accused of being involved in the Greek conspiracy, Savage was one of the most prolific importers of mainly cannabis and ecstasy into the State. Imports arrived into Dublin, Cork and the South-East. Times have been harder in recent years. He is said to be no longer trusted by the major players after a series of seizures in 1999 and 2000.

These included the discovery in Calais of nearly €5m of cannabis and ecstasy in early 1999 and €17m of ecstasy in Amsterdam the following year.

Both shipments were connected to Savage. Now, he claims he hasn't enough money to pay his lawyers. It might just be true.