Drug dealer victim of professional hit: gardaí

CORK drug dealer David “Boogie” Brett who was shot dead on Monday night appears to have been the victim of a professional hit.

Garda sources believe he was lured to the secluded spot 7km from Ballydesmond on the pretence of a drugs deal before being shot in the head.

His death, likely to have been part of a feud between rival gangs, followed a long career in the drugs world where he was a noted figure.

Brett, who was originally from Greenmount, near Barrack Street in Cork city, had moved away from the city and was living for a number of months in Liscarroll near Charleville.

He lived with his partner and had two young sons and a daughter all aged under 10 years.

He was regularly being watched by gardaí, but since he moved to LiscarrollGarda sources said that he hadn’t appeared to get involved in any serious trouble.

However, since the late 1990s he had a number of convictions for drug-related crime.

In 1995, he was jailed for four years at Waterford Circuit Court for possession with intent to supply.

In February 2001, Brett was given a seven-year suspended sentence for driving another man to pick up €50,000 worth of Ecstasy which was stashed at Ballymartle, Kinsale.

While his record in recent years was clear, it is believed that he may have had dealings with a gang based in Ballincollig, Co Cork.

This gang is heavily involved in the Cork drug trade and has links to organised crime in Limerick, where a lot of its supply comes from.

While gardaí in Limerick said they have not been asked to take part in the investigation into Brett’s murder as yet, they have not ruled out future involvement.

One of the reasons gardaí had more than a passing interest in David Brett was because of his elder brother, John.

The 45-year-old is currently serving an 11-year sentence for Ecstasy dealing.

A career criminal, John Brett was put under surveillance more than once by gardaí.

On November 16, 1999, gardaí got their reward. Drug squad detectives followed him to a warehouse in Glanmire, on the outskirts of Cork, where they found him with €500,000 worth of Ecstasy tablets stashed in truck tyres.

At his trial in Cork Circuit Criminal Court, the then head of the drugs squad, Detective Superintendent Tim Callaghan, described John Brett as one of the main Ecstasy dealers in the region.

Judge AG Murphy was asked for leniency by Brett’s defence team who said he was a good father to his children.

The judge asked him if he ever gave drugs to them. When told Brett did not he remarked: “Only to other people’s kids”.