Gardaí launch murder probe as drug dealer’s remains identified

Gardaí have called off a search of the land where the dismembered remains of a Dublin criminal were found and have formally declared a murder investigation.

Detectives, backed by a forensics team, sniffer dogs, and Garda divers, recovered most of the body parts belonging to Christopher Gaffney who was identified by his fingerprints after his severed arm was found by a member of the public whose dog sniffed it out last Friday.

Searches of the wooded grounds known as The Mayne on the Co Meath side of the Dublin-Meath border were conducted at the weekend, leading to the discovery of a black sack containing more body parts in a stream on Saturday, and further remains nearby yesterday.

It is thought they were dumped from a bridge 100m upstream and moved with the current.

Early last month, Gaffney, 37, was reported missing from his Blanchardstown home a couple of miles away after a relative became concerned about him.

A murder investigation was formally launched yesterday following the results of an autopsy which confirmed he had met a violent death.

Gaffney, who served time in prison for burglary in his teens, was later described in court as one of Dublin’s biggest drug dealers. He had been caught during a Garda raid in 2001 trying to flush bags of heroin down a toilet.

He was found with thousands of euro in cash in the premises he used as his depot and revealed he made a profit of €4,500 per week supplying heroin in the city centre. He ran the otherwise sophisticated supply operation from his bicycle.

Gardaí have issued an appeal to anyone who had contact with Gaffney in the past two months to contact the station in Ashbourne, Co Meath.

A Garda spokesman said: “We are also appealing to any person or persons who may have witnessed any suspicious or unusual activity involving people or vehicles over the past number of days or weeks, in the Kilbride/The Mayne area, close to the Porterstown Rd, Clonee, Co Meath, to come forward with any information.”