House seized from gang boss is gutted by fire before it is put on the market
Associates of Liam Byrne are the chief suspects in arson attack
A HOUSE seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) from gang boss Liam Byrne and which was about to be put up for sale has been gutted in an arson attack.
Associates of Byrne (39) are the chief suspects for the arson attack which happened shortly after midnight yesterday at Grangeview Road, Clondalkin.
It is understood a petrol bomb was used in the attack on the house.
Gardaí said a car was reversed into the property and then set alight causing damage to the house which was purchased by the criminal for €230,000 in 2006.
Its value before the arson attack is understood to have been around €320,000.
“This was a targeted attack and it has destroyed the property just as it was ready to go on the market,” a source told the Irish Independent last night.
It is understood the shocking arson attack terrified innocent people living with children in the estate and the case is being investigated by Clondalkin gardaí.
There have been no arrests made.
Malice
“It does not take much of a guess to establish who the chief suspects for this are. Liam Byrne is not in the country but his cronies are suspected of doing this out of complete spite and malice,” a source said.
Gardaí carried out a full technical examination at the scene yesterday and are studying CCTV in a bid to identify the culprits.
In February of last year, a receiver was appointed over the Clondalkin property and a Crumlin house belonging to major associates of the Kinahan cartel.
Cab applied for the home at Grangeview Road, Clondalkin, and another at Kildare Road, Crumlin, which was once owned by Sean McGovern, to be vacated within three weeks to allow for a receiver to be appointed.
At the time, a cousin of Simoan McEnroe, the partner of Liam Byrne, was living at the Clondalkin premises.
The court heard that he had 17 previous convictions, including two convictions under Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act.
The property at Grangeview Road, Clondalkin, was previously vandalised last year before it came into the possession of Cab.
In March of last year, Cab asked the High Court to order Maria Byrne, a sister of gangster Liam Byrne, to promise that a house she was due to hand over to Cab would be intact.
It followed separate incidents of vandalism to two houses including the Clondalkin property which belonged to Byrne and his associate Sean McGovern hours before they were also due to be handed over.
When a Cab officer attended the Clondalkin house he found substantial damage was done to it, counsel said.
Local gardaí had received a call on the day that two males were observed kicking in the door.
Extensive damage was done including windows smashed, fixtures and fittings removed or smashed along with flooding caused by the removal of water pipes and sanitary ware, the High Court heard.
In the Crumlin property which was owned by McGovern, who is now based in Dubai, officers found all fixtures and fittings there had been removed.