There will be justifiable fears that the murder of Kevin Conway in west Belfast on Tuesday night marks an alarming escalation in the criminal activities associated with the drug gangs operating across the north.
He was shot multiple times in a killing which the PSNI said was carried out with “cold-blooded brutality”.
Detective Inspector Gina Quinn said it was a “horrific, calculated and ruthless murder carried out in a busy residential area”.
The 26-year-old is believed to have been a prominent figure in a gang known as The Firm which has primarily been based in Co Armagh, and particularly active in Portadown and Lurgan.
He had himself been charged with murder following an execution-style killing carried out in Lurgan almost exactly a year ago. Father-of-four Shane Whitla (39) was shot dead in an alleyway off Woodville Street in the town on January 12 2023, apparently over a drug debt owed to the crime gang.
- West Belfast murder victim Kevin Conway was facing charges linked to gangland hitOpens in new window
- Shane Whitla 'executed' in Lurgan over suspected drug debt to notorious crime gang 'The Firm’Opens in new window
- A man who absconded on previous release for a gangland killing is readmitted to bailOpens in new window
Mr Conway was one of three people charged in connection with the murder, in which his role was alleged to have included luring Mr Whitla to his death.
The circumstances around Mr Conway’s own death will now need to be fully investigated: “This isn’t about what Kevin may or may not have been linked to, this is about trying to find his killers,” stressed Ms Quinn.
It will not go unnoticed that when Mr Conway was granted bail, the Public Prosecution Service appealed the decision and expressed concern that he could be the target of a possible reprisal attack.
There can be, however, absolutely no excuse for any individual - much less any criminal drug gang - to either threaten or inflict such violence upon anyone in their own home.
These reckless attacks inevitably place others at risk of injury or even death. As West Belfast MP Paul Maskey pointed out, the Rossnareen Park area is a busy residential location in which many young people would typically be present.
The PSNI should be given every assistance in establishing the facts around the murder, so that those responsible can be brought to justice.
More must also be done to tackle the organised crime gangs which are tightening their grip on far too many of our communities, primarily through enslavement to drugs and debt.
These gangs represent a different challenge to paramilitaries - they are often ‘cross-community’, for one thing - but are just as ruthless and deadly.
