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Cops say woman (31) whose dad was shot dead is ‘head of organised crime gang’

“She has quite a network in that area and is the head of an organised crime group in Newry,” said the officer

Today at 08:22

THE PSNI has told a court that the daughter of a drug dealer shot dead last year is the “head of an organised crime group”.

Mark ‘The Chicken’ Lovell was gunned down in Newry in December – a killing believed to have been ordered by a local drug gang.

Lovell’s daughter, Whitney Hughes (31), who faces a series of drug charges, was released from prison on compassionate bail to attend his funeral.

She is now on bail in connection with the alleged offences.

Hughes was back in court last week seeking a variation of her bail conditions so that she could travel to Dublin for the weekend with her partner.

However, the application was opposed by the PSNI.

A police officer told Newry Magistrates’ Court they would object to Hughes being allowed to visit Dublin.

“She has quite a network in that area and is the head of an organised crime group in Newry,” said the officer.

The application to change Hughes’ bail conditions was refused by a judge.

Lovell (58) was shot a number of times at close range inside his car while he was parked outside the home of a relative at Ardcarn Park in Newry on December 1, 2022.

He had survived another murder attempt at his home in Dundalk, Co Louth, shortly before he was killed.

Two men were arrested in connection with the murder following searches of a number of properties in Newry.

However, no one has been charged with Lovell’s killing.

Local sources have claimed he was gunned down by members of a local drugs gang.

In the weeks before the murder, a number of houses in Newry were attacked as part of a feud.

Speaking in the wake of Lovell’s murder, PSNI District Commander for Newry, Mourne and Down, Norman Haslett, described the attack on a “defenceless man” as “brutal and senseless”.

“We believe those responsible went to great lengths to plan this attack and that they lay in wait for their victim to come home and essentially ambushed him and executed him,” he said. “The victim was a husband, a father and a son. He was shot multiple times at close range.

“The level of violence used was reprehensible, particularly given the time of the day – tea-time on a week night in a busy residential area of Newry with people coming home from work.”

Hughes is out on bail awaiting trial on a number of drug offences, along with charges of possessing criminal property and trading in counterfeit products.

In court this week, an application was made on her behalf to vary the bail conditions to allow her and her partner to travel to Dublin later this month for a two-night stay in a hotel.

However, in objecting to the application, a police officer told the court that Hughes was already in breach of two of the five bail conditions in place.

These related to obtaining details of PINs of a phone seized by police.

Hughes’ solicitor said his client told police she did not remember the PIN to the phone, and when she did provide one, it was wrong. The solicitor said this was now being held against Hughes.

He added: “My client has been on bail for quite a considerable length of time.

“This case started over a year ago and since her release from custody, Hughes had adhered to her bail conditions.

“She simply wants to go away for a weekend with her partner.”

Refusing the application to vary the bail conditions, District Judge Eamonn King said: “This young lady has made certain lifestyle choices and she must live with those consequences.”

The charges against Hughes arose from a search police carried out on a storage container on July 4 of last year.

In this container, police discovered a significant quantity of class A and class B drugs which included four to five kilos of cannabis, as well as mobile phones.

A quantity of cocaine was also in the drugs haul.

Initial estimates put the value of the drugs in excess of £100,000.

The court heard there are a different ties between Hughes and the container, including that quite a substantial amount of paraphernalia for a business she was running at the time was found.

Hughes is due to appear in court later this month in connection with the alleged offences.