Ireland

Young people been warned not to get involved in drug dealing at any level

Seán Little, left, and Jordan Davis. Picture from RTÉ
Seán Little, left, and Jordan Davis. Picture from RTÉ Seán Little, left, and Jordan Davis. Picture from RTÉ

Young people have been warned not to get involved in drug dealing at any level after two friends were shot dead in Dublin within a number of hours.

Assistant Garda Commissioner Pat Leahy made the comments as gardaí launched two separate murder investigations into the deaths of the men, both aged 22.

Sean Little and Jordan Davis were shot dead in different parts of north Dublin within 24 hours of each other.

Gardaí believe the two friends were killed for different motives but said they would pursue all avenues of investigation.

It is understood Mr Davis was targeted by a lone gunman in the Marigold Road area of Darndale at about 4pm on Wednesday.

He was approached between a school and a church in the area.

Gardaí believe the gunman used a red mountain bike which was seen in the area in the days and hours before the killing.

Mr Little's body was found dead beside a burning car in Balbriggan on Tuesday night.

Gardaí said the shooting happened at Rowans Little, Walshestown, at about 11.20pm.

Mr Leahy made a direct appeal to young men and women in a bid to discourage them from getting involved in the drugs trade.

He said: "It's difficult to even term them as young men at the age of 22 because they are really only just after coming out of their teenage years and all of a sudden their lives are taken unceremoniously in the fashion that has been described over the last couple of days.

"We are really appealing to the young people that are out there, not only in the city but across the country, please do not get involved at any level with the drugs trade.

"Low-level dealing is enough to have your life taken at a young age.

"The community in Darndale have come forward and helped us really well around this issue, however we know there are people in the community that know some information around that particular incident.

"We will be sensitive in relation to any information that we receive."

He also made an appeal in relation to Mr Little's murder and asked anyone with dash-cam footage who was in the area at the time to come forward.

Mr Leahy said he thought there was a possible generational change in people getting involved in the drugs trade.

"It's certainly a possible outcome as we know we have been dealing with a serious feud that has strong international links," he said.

"Lots of the people involved in the top tier have been convicted of murder and attempted murder around that feud and a lot of them have left the country and perhaps left a bit of a void in terms of who's going to continue the trade so we do see young people getting involved in that vacuum that has been created.

"Unfortunately, an unintended consequence of that is that people who are living in the communities are seeing people with access to money and access to cars and women and everything that goes with more funding from the drugs trade."

He said that discouraging young people from getting involved in drugs was not a policing matter on its own, adding that it took work from a number of different agencies.