Irishman arrested in Liverpool in major development in Robbie Lawlor murder investigation

The man, originally from Sligo, was arrested by police in Merseyside earlier this week.

A source described the arrest as “extremely significant” and said Sligoman is suspected of playing “an integral role” in the murder of the feared gangster’s thug.

He will now be questioned by the PSNI in the coming days after being flown to Belfast under tight security.

Because Belfast is in the UK, he will not need to be extradited for questioning by Northern police.

The arrested man is well known to Sligo Police and had previously appeared in court on drug charges.

He is a known associate of drug trafficker Barry Young, who is currently serving an 11-year sentence for drug trafficking.

Robbie Lawlor was shot dead in Belfast in April 2020 in a complex plot involving a variety of criminal gangs.

At the time of his murder, Lawlor had become one of the most erratic criminals operating in Ireland’s underworld and was the prime suspect in several gangster murders.

Lawlor became heavily involved in the Drogheda dispute and fueled the dispute after his release from prison in December 2019.

He was suspected of being actively involved in the murder and dismemberment of Drogheda teenager Keane Mulready-Woods.

Among the gun murders Lawlor was suspected of was the shooting of Kenneth Finn (36) in Coolock in February 2018; He was ‘Mr Big’s’ right-hand man and best friend.

Finn’s murder is currently considered the main motive for Lawlor’s murder in Belfast.

The arrests, cash seizures and other matters involving the Dundon-McCarthy gang following the fatal shooting are now being described as a smokescreen devised by ‘Mr Big’ to disguise his involvement in Lawlor’s murder, according to sources who consider it the most important man in Ireland. devious criminal.

Gardai also believe Sligo gang boss Barry Young has forged close links with ‘Mr Big’.

Young (39) became one of the country’s most important drug suppliers and came to control a gang operating in the west of Ireland over a two-decade criminal career.

Young became a key figure in the drug trade in the North and was suspected of supplying cocaine and cannabis to several gangs operating in Belfast and the border regions.

During his sentencing hearing, the Special Criminal Court heard how Young ran a drug gang with 20 members who sold huge quantities of cannabis across the west of Ireland.

Young pleaded guilty to directing the activities of the gang, which was international in nature but operated in the Sligo, Donegal, Leitrim and Galway areas, where it was involved in drug trafficking, intimidation and money laundering.

The court was told drug seizures linked to the gang amounted to more than €628,000, while Young himself had €40,000 in cash despite his only declared income being welfare payments. Young also sent agents he described as “ballheads” and “Dirty Harry” to collect drug debts, the sentencing hearing was told.

In the three-judge court, Garda Detective Inspector Raand Mulderrig told Fiona Murphy SC, for the State, that Young was arrested by Sligo detectives at Dublin Airport on January 11 this year when he was heading to Spain in a bid to escape his life of crime and drug debts.

The experienced officer has led the detailed investigation into Young’s drug trafficking network for many years.

Detective Mulderrig told Ms Murphy that gardaí seized Young’s phone and discovered thousands of messages, images, videos and calls relating to Young’s criminal activities running the Sligo-based gang.

Detective Mulderrig said Young had 81 previous convictions at the time of his arrest and had been convicted twice for drug trafficking, with his last conviction for that offense being in 2006 when he was sentenced to six years in prison.