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Manhunt underway after gangster escapes from Garda station while having a cigarette

The fugitive, aged in his 30s, is considered a key member of the so-called anti-Maguire faction

Yesterday at 20:45

A major Garda manhunt is in place for a suspected gangland criminal who escaped from Drogheda Garda Station where he was being questioned about serious offences.

The fugitive, aged in his 30s, is considered a key member of the so-called anti-Maguire faction who are involved in the ongoing Drogheda feud that has claimed four lives.

It is understood he managed to flee the station at around 9pm on Thursday when he was allowed out of his cell to have a cigarette.

“On his way back, he just ran through the station and was gone,” a source said.

This led to a major search and sources say some of the clothing that he was wearing was later found in the nearby home of one of his well-known criminal associates.

But the fugitive has still not been located by gardaí.

The suspect was being detained and questioned by officers about money laundering offences and membership of a criminal organisation at the time he escaped.

It is extremely rare for detained people to be able to flee from garda stations and it is expected that a full internal review of the incident will now be carried out by gardaí.

However, sources say their main priority is now to locate the suspect, who has links to Co Roscommon, but has been based in Drogheda for a number of years where he became associated with the anti-Maguire gang.

He has previous convictions for offences such as burglary and drug offences and is very well known to gardaí.

When contacted by the Irish Independent tonight, a Garda spokesman said: “Gardaí are investigating the escape from Garda custody of a male on Thursday, 14th December 2023 from a Garda Station in the Garda Northwest Region.

“Investigations are ongoing at this time.”

Last month, the Irish Independent revealed the gang the fugitive is linked was linked to a spate of recent attacks, including a home invasion involving firearms.

The gang is led by two brothers who are currently living outside of Ireland to avoid serious domestic charges here.

Gardaí are aware of one incident a month ago during which associates of the gang broke into a property in the Moneymore area armed with handguns.

During the home invasion, the occupant’s phone was stolen and his car was also taken before being burnt out.

The deadly Drogheda feud, which has claimed four lives, started in earnest in July 2018 when mob boss Owen Maguire was left paralysed after being shot by gangland serial killer Robbie Lawlor, who was himself murdered as part of the same criminal dispute in April 2020.

It was the brutal murder and dismemberment of the body of Keane Mulready Woods (17) in January 2020 by crazed criminal Lawlor that elevated the feud into an international news story.

A key figure in the bitter gangland warfare was Cornelius Price, who died in a Welsh hospital in February.

The 41-year-old gangster, considered a key member of the Maguire faction, was charged with conspiring to falsely imprison and blackmail two brothers in July 2020in the UK.

He was unable to stand trial with his five alleged associates as he was suffering a brain disease.

The anti-Maguire faction have also been left seriously weakened by garda operations against them.

Two brothers who are considered the mob’s leaders are forced to live abroad, and many of their key associates are either dead or locked up in prison.

This has meant individuals such as the criminal who is currently on the run now have a more serious role to play in the criminal organisation.