A NUMBER of significant gangland figures are among 13 people arrested in connection with the murder of Anthony Russell in north Dublin on Friday night.
At least one of those arrested yesterday is a suspect for the fatal shooting while another of the arrested men is a member of a very well-known crime family from the north inner city.
The 13 men were arrested in a major Garda operation that began before dawn yesterday.
A team of 120 Garda members assembled from 5am at Santry Garda station in north Dublin. They were briefed on the backgrounds of those they were targeting before being dispatched in search teams to houses in north Dublin and the north inner city.
The co-ordinated searches began from 6am and were led by gardaí from Coolock assisted by district detective units, the Special Detective Unit (SDU) and National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI).
About 15 houses were raided.Gardaí also found small quantities of drugs as well as a number of computers and documentation. A large amount of that material was confiscated for analysis.
All of those arrested are suspected of involvement with two feuding criminal factions based mainly in the Sheriff Street area.
The two groups were once associates but their drugs and armed robbery gang split when its leader, Christy Griffin, was accused four years ago of raping his stepdaughter. Griffin (38), originally from Canon Lillis Avenue, Dublin 1, is currently serving a life sentence for those rapes.
Two men, Stephen Ledden and Gerard "Batt" Byrne, were both killed in gun attacks in the north inner city in December 2006 as part of the feud.
Anthony Russell, the 30-year-old father of two from Kilmore shot on Friday night, was suspected by gardaí and those involved in the feud of being the gunman in the Gerard Byrne killing.
Gardaí investigating Russell's murder in the Ardlea Inn, Artane, Dublin 5, say that while their investigation is at an early stage they believe the victim was most likely killed by those out to avenge Gerard Byrne's murder. One of the men arrested yesterday was very closely associated with Byrne.
Two masked men wearing black clothing and balaclavas walked into the Ardlea Inn at about 8.30pm on Friday and singled out Russell as he sat drinking with friends. He was fatally hit in the upper body.
Gardaí found an abandoned silver Nissan Almera in a laneway around the corner from the pub which they believe was used by the killers to flee the immediate vicinity. A handgun found in the car is believed to be the murder weapon.
The killing has raised fears that the Sheriff Street feud, which had been relatively calm in recent months compared with the frenetic activity of 2006, has now significantly escalated.
The men arrested yesterday were all being held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act. They were being questioned on suspicion of withholding information about illegal firearms. They were being held at Garda stations across north Dublin.
Anybody with information on the murder of Anthony Russell is asked to contact gardaí in Coolock on 01-6664200.
