Gardaí believe Hyland's own gang committed double murder

Gardaí investigating the double murders of drug dealer Martin "Marlo" Hyland and apprentice plumber and innocent bystander Anthony Campbell have informally interviewed a number of Hyland's associates who are being treated as suspects in the killings.

Detectives have been establishing the suspects' whereabouts in an effort to check their alibis for Tuesday morning when the victims were gunned down in Hyland's niece's house in Scribblestown Park, Finglas.

The large team of detectives working on the case is becoming increasingly satisfied Hyland was killed by his own gang. The 39-year-old, originally from Cabra, told gardaí in the days before his murder that he was aware of a threat to kill him. The Irish Times has established that the threat came from his inner circle of drug-dealing associates.

The black VW Passat car used in the murder was stored indoors, probably in a garage, from the time it was stolen in Newbridge, Co Kildare, in the early hours of December 1st, and gardaí have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

Detectives believe the killers used a small can of petrol to set the car on fire in Ballygall, Glasnevin, and want to speak to anybody who may have sold a small quantity of petrol on the morning of the murder or in the days leading up to it.

Gardaí in Store Street in Dublin's city centre believe the 25-year-old man shot dead in the IFSC on the north quays on Wednesday night was shot as part of a feud between rival criminal factions in the north inner city. The victim, Gerard Batt Byrne, from Ferryman's Crossing, Dublin, was heavily involved in organised crime.