Gardaí probe gangland killing in Spain

Gardaí were yesterday liaising with their counterparts in Spain to try to establish a motive and who was responsible for the shooting of notorious Dublin gangland figure Gerard Kavanagh in a bar in Marbella.

The 43 year-old convicted drug dealer was hit up to nine times, in the arms, body and head, as he tried to flee through a back door from two gunmen who had burst into Harmon’s Irish bar in Elviria, just after 4pm Irish time on Saturday.

Witnesses said his attackers were wearing black balaclavas and black clothing when they struck.

The way they quickly singled him out has led to a belief they had been sent expressly to assassinate Kavanagh.

The victim, reportedly an associate of renowned international drug dealer Christy Kinahan, was rushed to hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

A burnt out BMW 4x4, believed to have been used as a getaway car by the killers, was found approximately 5km from the scene of the shooting.

Gerard Kavanagh, whose nickname was ‘Hatchet’, is known to have been involved in the drugs trade since the 1990s when he was convicted after being caught with a quantity of heroin.

He had links to a violent criminal gang in south Dublin but had moved with his partner to Spain in recent years. According to reports, however, he would frequently return to Ireland to collect drugs debts on behalf of an international drugs gang.

His death made him the latest of a number of Irish gangland criminals who have been murdered after moving to Spain in recent years.