Four arrested in Josh Itseli gangland murder probe released without charge

Sunday World

6 days ago

Two men, aged in their 20s and 40s, and two women, both aged in their 20s, were arrested in recent weeks
Four people arrested by gardai investigating the fatal shooting of Josh Itseli in Dublin last year have been released without charge.
Two men, aged in their 20s and 40s, and two women, both aged in their 20s, were arrested in recent weeks.
Gardaí said that all four have now been released without charge and files will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions
Josh Itseli was shot and killed amid chaotic scenes on Knocknarea Road, Drimnagh on May 6 last year.
The death of the 20-year-old on the May bank holiday weekend was the only gangland murder to happen in Ireland last year.
On the night of the shooting, Itseli was travelling in a stolen Volkswagen Golf, which was rammed at around 12.15am before a gun was fired up to 20 times.
Detectives believe Itseli was killed by one of his own gang by mistake when they lost control of the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
Gardai at the scene last May
Gardaí believe the victim and his associates, who in addition to carrying the AR-15 were armed with a pipe bomb and wearing body armour, were on the way to bomb the home of rival criminals, believed to be two brothers, in south Dublin.
Bullets from the rifle, which appears to have been fired almost indiscriminately, also struck the local community centre, with one entering through a window and striking a table inside.
No evidence has been found to suggest that any other weapon was fired or that the rival criminals who rammed the car were armed.
Josh Itseli
News in 90 Seconds - May 28th
The AR-15 was subsequently recovered by gardaí from a hedgerow in the vicinity of the shooting, while Itseli's three criminal associates were arrested by the Armed Response Unit on Slievebloom Road, about a kilometre from the scene.
All three were wearing body armour.
The chief suspect in the murder was arrested near the scene that night, but was later released from custody.
The suspect was granted bail before the murder, despite garda objections. The volatile criminal, who is from Dublin was on bail at the time over a serious attack on a female He later left for the UK before returning to Dublin in August where he was arrested for an unrelated offence.
Two other young men were also arrested in the aftermath of the murder and all three were later released without charge.
Itseli, who was before the courts accused of dealing cocaine, originally came to Ireland with his family from Congo.
During a highly charged and emotional funeral service, a pastor pleaded with his friends not to get involved in crime.
He told them: 'We came from Africa in order to look for a good life here … but we don't want to bury you here.'
The weapon recovered at the scene
The father of Josh, was laid to rest following a two-day vigil by a large group of mourners, also spoke during the ceremony and he lovingly revealed how he called his son JoJo.
We later reported how the chief suspect who accidentally shot Itseli may have acquired the AR-15 murder weapon through criminal associates of the Kinahan cartel.
The criminal has direct links to a number of older drug dealers aligned with the cartel.
The source also said feuding cartel criminals, including a notorious gang operating in Finglas, have in the past been supplied with the same model of rifle.
It was a possibility, said the source, the weapon may even have been one used by that gang and then passed on.
The origin of the weapon and how it came to be in the possession of a young unsophisticated street gang, was a major source of concern for gardaí in the wake of the shooting.
Itseli's gang who acquired the weapon just days before the 20-year-old's death, were clueless as to how to use it, with one asking on social media the night before the killing: 'Anyone know how to use this thing.'
It's understood that because of their ignorance in how to handle the weapon, investigators believe it's likely the violent 20-year-old suspected of firing the fatal shot may have accidentally killed his own pal.