Yousef Palani: Massive cash find sparked fears Sligo murders were terror-related

Anti-terrorism gardaí worked with overseas security agencies to determine if Yousef Palani, who was on Monday sentenced to life for the murder of two gay men, was engaged in terrorism.

The presence of €350,000 in cash in two suitcases in Palani’s home in Sligo town raised fears he had been paid by an Islamic terrorism group to carry out the attacks.

However, gardaí concluded there were no outside groups or individuals involved in the attack. A sentencing hearing at the Central Criminal Court on Monday heard gardaí did not believe Palani was “radicalised despite some suggestions to the contrary”.

Palani (23) murdered local men Michael Snee and Aidan Moffitt and seriously assaulted Anthony Burke during a four-day spree of violence in Sligo town. Gardaí believe he would have continued to kill gay men if he had not been arrested.

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Palani tracked the men down using an LGBT dating app before stabbing them to death in their homes and mutilating their bodies.

The attacks triggered a massive Garda manhunt with armed officers visiting the homes of gay men around the town as they tried to track down Palani. With the assistance of witnesses, including Mr Burke, gardaí traced Palani to his home and arrested him.

[ Families remember ‘kind’, ‘fun’ and ‘caring’ Michael Snee and Aidan Moffitt who were murdered by Yousef Palani ]

On Monday, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring imposed two mandatory life sentences for the murders of Mr Snee and Mr Moffitt. She imposed a 20-year term for the assault causing serious harm to Mr Burke which left him blind in one eye.

The large amount of money found in the house, combined with the targeting of gay men and the exceptionally violent nature of the murders prompted gardaí to investigate a potential terror connection.

Detectives from the Special Detective Unit’s Islamic terrorism sub unit took on the case and made contact with intelligence agencies in Europe and the US to determine if Palani was on their radar. These included MI6, the FBI and French intelligence.

None had heard of Palani or his family. Gardaí also determined the family had no connections to Islamic extremists in Ireland.

The origin of the money was also investigated by the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) which determined it likely came from legitimate sources.

Gardaí have not made any public statement about the money in court or elsewhere. However, sources said it was concluded the money came from the legitimate earnings of the Palani family, which is made up of two parents and eight children.

Some of the money was brought with them when they fled from Iraq 17 years ago. Before fleeing, the family enjoyed a relatively good standard of living. They arrived in Ireland under a refugee resettlement programme when Yousef Palani was six years old.

“They were frugal and didn’t use banks,” said a source. Palani’s family is not suspected of involvement in the murders or any other criminality.

[ ‘All we are left with are unanswered questions’: Why did Yousef Palani go on a murderous rampage targeting gay men? ]

While terrorism was ruled out, gardaí are satisfied Palani was motivated by a hatred of gay men, despite engaging in consensual sexual activity with one of the victims.

His motivation was to “carry out murder due to prejudice against homosexuality”, Det Garda Conor Jordan told the court.

As well as hearing distressing and graphic evidence of Palani’s attacks, Ms Justice Ring heard a series of victim impact reports describing the lives of Mr Snee and Mr Moffitt who were popular and active members of their community.

She asked both families for a picture of the men so she could get a sense of them beyond the circumstances of their deaths.

Mr Snee (58) was a carer and hospital porter with a keen wit and dry sense of humour, the court heard. A talented Irish dancer, he was known for helping his neighbours, particularly the elderly.

Mr Moffitt was a talented businessman who had his own financial consultancy. He was also a shrewd political adviser who was heavily involved with the Fine Gael party.