Gardaí make further seizures in murder probe
Initially, five men and a woman were arrested during dawn raids last Wednesday in the Mayfield, Blackpool, Ballygarvan, Ballintemple and Glanmire areas in connection with the murder of Gerard Staunton.
No further arrests were made yesterday.
Staunton, aged 41, was shot dead on January 20 last year by a lone gunman who murdered him in front of his partner and her two young children outside their rented house at Westlawn Estate, Wilton.
The oldest man arrested during Wednesday’s dawn swoops, who is his 50s, was released without charge later on Wednesday night. However, a short time later detectives arrested a 57-year-old man in the Ballinlough area.
He was also detained under the provisions of Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act 1939.
The six in custody were being questioned at garda stations at Mayfield, Togher, Gurranabraher and the Bridewell.
The men detained range in age from their 20s to late 50s, while the woman is in her 20s.
They are also being questioned about allegations that they were involved in attempts to extort money from drug dealers.
Armed gardaí from the Regional Support Unit (RSU) were involved in making the arrests, while follow-up searches at a number of locations later that day resulted in the seizure of 320 rounds of 9mm ammunition — suitable for Uzi sub-machine guns — computers, mobile phones and several documents.
The Real IRA claimed that it murdered Staunton and another convicted drug dealer Kieran O’Flynn, who was shot at his house at Thorndale Estate, Dublin Hill 2001.
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have any information in relation to Gerard Staunton’s murder to contact Togher gardaí at (021) 4947120, or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800666111.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
