Murdered with an assault rifle – the new face of gang warfare in Dublin

● Drug gangs are always brutal, but use of a high-powered weapon in housing estate is a game-changer

Josh Itseli wasn’t even born when the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud erupted on the same streets where he was gunned down six days ago. The 20-year-old, who was before the courts charged with the sale and supply of crack cocaine, was shot in the head with a high-velocity weapon amid chaotic scenes in the early hours of last Monday in Drimnagh, Dublin.

Gardaí have two theories about why the young criminal was shot dead.

The first is that he was murdered by members of his own gang.

The second, which has gained more traction over the past 72 hours, is that he was accidentally killed by his associates after they were ambushed by rival criminals while en route to launch a pipe-bomb attack on the home of two brothers they are feuding with.

In the days immediately following the shooting, a security source had first said the evidence largely pointed towards a “double-cross” by members of his own drugs gang.

This source told the Sunday Independent that Itseli had recently been entrusted with a six-figure sum of cash to buy drugs on behalf of his gang, but failed to do so and the money went missing.

According to this line of inquiry, some of his gang plotted his murder when he was unable to account for the cash.

The source said early intelligence indicated other members of the gang — friends of Itseli — were to get the young man to join them in a pipe-bomb attack on rival drug dealers in the south of the city. Then members of Itseli’s own gang were to murder him.

However, less than a week after his death, speculation surrounds the exact circumstances because of the complicated nature of the killing. However, a number of facts have been established.

Itseli was in a stolen black Mercedes with four associates at around 12.15am on Monday when the violence erupted. The AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with which he was killed, and a pipe bomb found later on the road, were both in the stolen car with the victim and his associates, gardai believe.

The car, which was fitted with false registration plates, was rammed by a VW Golf at the junction of Knocknarea Road and Curlew Road, while a Ford Focus was also involved.

Detectives suspect Itseli and his associates were intercepted by rival criminals attached to the same gang they were due to target in the pipe-bomb attack.

This row is connected to drug-dealing in the south of the city.

After their car was rammed, Itseli and his associates spilled out. One of them then fired the AR-15. A garda examination of the scene indicates it was the only weapon used and up to 20 shots were fired.

Bullet holes were also found in a nearby community centre. The rifle was found the following day in a bush, barely concealed.

It would have been “far too difficult” for the criminals to flee with it.

Another source suggested the shooter appeared to have “little knowledge or control” of the weapon.

Among gardaí sent to deal with the incident were members of the Armed Support Unit. Shortly after the shooting, three young men, believed to have been in the stolen Golf with Itseli, were arrested by the armed officers.

The chief suspect for the shooting is a close associate of the victim and a violent young criminal. Aged in his early 20s, he had been in the same car as Itseli. He is currently on bail for a violent attack on a woman.

He is understood to be related to south-inner-city criminals who are linked to the Kinahan cartel.

The three young arrested after Itseli’s killing were later released without charge. Files are being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The fourth man in the car with Itseli, a teenager, later presented himself to gardaí and gave a voluntary statement.

A van spotted near the scene of the murder has also been recovered as part of the inquiry.

Detectives recovered good quality CCTV footage of the incident, and clothes and mobile phones were seized.

At least three homes have been searched in an attempt to recover further evidence. One of the properties is connected to the brothers who may have been the target of the pipe-bomb attack.

As the murder investigation continued last week, some senior gardaí began to lean towards the second theory, that Itseli’s associate shot him accidently in the midst of the ambush by rivals. That is what is being “spouted” by people closely linked to the arrested men.

However, one source said there are certain matters that cannot be ignored about the victim, primarily that he had been causing problems within his own gang and some of them wanted him dead.

Intelligence suggests Itseli had been summoned to meet some of his associates over missing drugs money he was essentially being accused of stealing.

The, meeting was due to take place in an open space, as the gang believe they cannot speak freely in houses or cars due to bugging technology.

The source said: “Josh was already causing problems for the gang because he was before the courts on serious drugs charges. It was leading to garda heat on them all — more stops and searches for the entire gang — and that’s not good for business.

“When people fall out over drugs and money, everything goes sideways. That’s exactly how the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud kicked off over 20 years ago, when friends in a drugs gang fell out over the same things — drugs and money.”

In Crumlin in 2001, Brian Rattigan killed his former friend and drug-dealing associate Declan Gavin, who was accused of being a “rat” after a drugs deal was intercepted by gardaí. That killing sparked the feud, which went on to claim 16 lives.

The source added: “Josh Itseli was gunned down on the same streets where some of the main players in that feud also fell. He would’ve been aware who Rattigan and ‘Fat’ Freddie Thompson are, but it would’ve meant nothing to him.

“He was part of the new generation. His was a very modern gangland killing, right down to the weapon used, but at the same time, not much has changed over 20 years in that area in terms of how the gangs operate. People can be friends one day and enemies the next.”

Itseli was the first gangland casualty of 2024. As tensions rise between his outfit and their rivals, armed garda patrols have increased in the area.

For local people who remember the carnage caused by the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud, the thoughts of a return to those days are abhorrent.

“Does the death of Josh Itseli have the potential to spark violence at the level of the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud? I don’t believe so,” said a source familiar with that gang war.

“The reality is that Itseli is not that well got by his associates. But the fact his gang, a mid-level drugs outfit, have access to an AR-15 should be of serious concern to gardaí.

“At its height, the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud was waged with knives and handguns — they could only dream of getting their hands on weapons of that power. Easy access to high-velocity weapons is the game changer right now in gangland, not criminal intent.”

Josh was causing problems in his own gang — and some wanted him dead