Recovered guns may hold key to latest gang murder
Desmond, 41, who was also known as ‘The Guinea Pig’, was found shot dead in a public park in Lucan, west Dublin on Friday night.
The Dubliner, who had also spent time in England and the west of Ireland, was involved in the drugs trade and also acted as enforcer for some major dealers. He was suspected of at least four murders.
He is believed to have had dealings with the Hutch and Kinahan gangs which have been embroiled in a bloody feud this year.
However while he had high-profile enemies, the fact that his killers left behind two guns that gardaí recovered with relative ease, suggests the hit was not particularly professional.
One handgun was found in woodland at Griffeen Valley Park where Desmond had gone on Friday evening, possibly after being set up for a fake drug deal, while the second was left in a getaway car found burnt out on a roadside only a short distance away.
Desmond’s body was not concealed and was found by a member of the public.
Gardaí have appealed for other people who may have been walking or jogging through the park or surrounding area on Friday to get in contact if they spotted anything that might assist the investigation.
At least three shots are believed to have been fired at Desmond so it is likely if there were people in the vicinity they would have heard something that would help pin down the exact time of the attack.
Desmond served time for assault and gun charges but although he was tried for the murders of two young drug ‘mules’ and was suspected of several other murders, he was not convicted of any killings.
In the case that went to trial, he was accused of the 1999 executions of Darren Carey, 19, and Patrick Murray, 20, after drugs they were carrying were seized by airport security, but vital testimony was withdrawn following threats to key witnesses.
