GUN ATTACK ON DAD AND & SON WAS IN REVENGE FOR DRUGS ROW KILLING
Man gets seven-and-a-half years for his role
The other crew were fearful of Fowler with his Kinahan connections
A FALLING out over drug money led to a feud erupting with the murder of a gangster before a son and father were shot in separate botched revenge hits.
Derek Byrne was this week jailed for seven-and-a-half years for his role in helping a criminal gang try to kill Noel Boylan in west Dublin in June 2019. The 40-year-old thug, of Drynam Hall in Swords, Co Dublin, was initially charged with attempting to kill Noel before he pleaded guilty to buying the car used by the gunman on the day. The dispute began in December 2018 when Kinahan associate Eric Fowler was blasted to death in his driveway three days before Christmas. Although it was initially feared Fowler was whacked as part of the Kinahan and Hutch feud, detectives soon established that it was in fact a localised issue that cost him his life. A source said: “Fowler and this other local crew fell out over drug money. “The other crew were fearful of Fowler with his Kinahan connections and what he could do, so they went and got him shot first. And that is what kicked it off.” We can reveal that Mr Flashy associate and Iranian hitman for hire Hamid Sanambar, who was later shot dead in the Coolock feud, was a suspect in Fowler’s killing. But Fowler’s fuming associates had pinpointed blame on Dubliner Lee Boylan, without any evidence. Lee, who has no criminal convictions, was blasted a number of times on the Blakestown road in Mulhuddart, West Dublin on March 6, 2019 as he sat in a van. But despite being shot at close range, he survived after his carotid artery and jugular vein formed a connection and stopped him from bleeding out. Limerick man Alan Graham, who was later jailed for driving the car used by the gunman, met notorious gangster Derek “Bottler” Devoy in Finglas and celebrated after he believed the hit was a success. With Lee surviving, his father Noel was targeted on just three months later. On June 1, 2019, convicted armed robber Noel was shot out walking his dog. But when the hitman’s gun jammed, the victim ran into a Lidl shop until ambulance and gardai came. At a sentencing hearing this week, Mr Justice Paul Mcdermott said Byrne “didn’t care who was killed or who was jeopardised in the process” and said the hit only failed because the gun had jammed.