Family in West Limerick help dead hitman's driver flee the area as gardaí continue search

Extra garda personnel have been deployed to the Rathkeale area as tensions mount. File picture

A family in West Limerick has helped the accomplice of a notorious European hitman flee the area, following the assassin's death in a road accident last week en route to carrying out an attack.

A major garda hunt is ongoing for the driver of the armed murderer, who was killed about 15km from the intended target.  The driver fled the scene, leading to gardaí mobilising to trace him in the days since.

Sources say that if the hired gunman, who was a passenger in the accident between Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale, had got to his destination in Rathkeale, there would have been a "blood bath".

He was found dead at the scene of a road collision, wearing a balaclava and carrying a Sig automatic handgun. It was loaded with 10 bullets, and he was carrying two clips with 10 rounds in each.

It is believed he had orders to kill several people in Limerick.

The dead man has been named as Axel Liebsch Moranels, aged 33. He was originally from South America, and moved to Sweden some years ago. He was linked to at least two murders in Scandivania and was an associate of feared drug gangs throughout Europe. The repatriation of the body to Sweden is being organised.

Gardaí say that the driver of the hit car, who fled the scene, has been assisted by a family in West Limerick, which was engaged in the commission of the murder.

It is believed that the two men were hired to carry out a reprisal killing for a violent incident in Rathkeale in the past two years.

The address found on the satnav on a mobile phone the dead man was carrying was the location of the intended target. Several people reside at the address.

Major surveillance had been conducted by the would-be assassins for months in preparation for last Monday night.

'Something out of Netflix'

"This was an operation that you would associate with major international gang murders. There was a massive surveillance in Rathkeale carried out over months. This was like something out of Netflix," a garda source said.

Given the profile of the hitman and his accomplice, sources say that the two were at least hired for a sum in the region of €500,000.

Gardaí were mystified at the discovery of the dead gunman who died when the Seat Leon was involved in a three-car impact as it did a U-turn and hit two other cars.

After the gunman was identified by fingerprints, a major investigation was launched. The first target was finding the driver who fled the scene.

A working theory is that the fugitive arranged for a pick up before he was put on public transport at some stage to avoid garda checkpoints.

Extra garda personnel have been deployed to the Rathkeale area as tensions mount.

"There are people alive today who were destined to be dead," one source said.