Gardaí believe man shot in gangland murder was not intended target

GARDAÍ suspect the latest gangland murder victim was not the intended target.

Darren Cogan, 22, was shot dead in a Dublin pub on June 25 by a masked gunman.

A friend of Cogan was also shot, but not seriously injured.

The pair were having a drink in the Black Horse Inn in Inchicore, in Dublin’s south inner city, when the attack happened.

Gardaí believe the murder is part of a feud between two gangs in the area, one based in Bluebell and Inchicore, and the other from nearby Drimnagh.

The Bluebell gang is led by a 31-year-old senior member of the Continuity IRA. He was recently released from Portlaoise Prison, where he served five years for membership of an illegal organisation.

During his time in prison, he developed links with the head of the one of the two gangs involved in the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud, which has claimed some 14 lives in the last 10 years.

Gardaí said the republican, and his own gang, have come into conflict with a gang known as the Dirty Dozen from Drimnagh, which has loose connections with the rival gang in the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud.

Detectives suspect Cogan, from Bluebell, was not the intended target in the gun attack but another man who was near him at the time. “Cogan was the wrong guy we think,” a Garda source said. “I wouldn’t say he was innocent, but he was not the target. The fella they were looking for was nearby.”

The gunmen had entered the pub earlier in the night, but left after they couldn’t find their target.

When they came back, they shot Cogan dead and injured another man. The gunman then ran across the road and fired a number of shots into the pub. Luckily no one else was injured.

Gardaí suspect that a woman acted as a spotter in the pub and tipped the criminals off about the movement of their target.

Gardaí have been bracing themselves for retaliation.