A murder defendant told a Central Criminal Court jury yesterday that several attempts were made on his life after 40,000 ecstasy tablets went missing, weeks before the murdered man was beaten and shot dead.
Mr Joseph Delaney (54), formerly of La Rochelle, Naas, Co Kildare, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Mark Dwyer (23), on or about December 14th, 1996.
He has also pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning Mr Dwyer and detaining him against his will at Foster Terrace, Ballybough, Dublin, on December 14th, 1996.
The prosecution alleges Mr Dwyer was shot dead after being tortured for a number of hours in a revenge killing, after 40,000 ecstasy tablets, believed to have been part of a drugs consignment organised by the accused, went missing.
Mr Delaney said that after the drugs "rip" (theft), three to four attempts were made on his life by armed men calling to his house in Naas, Co Kildare.
He said that on one occasion two men arrived at the house but were scared off by Mr Delaney's dog, which chased them into a neighbouring field. He told the court a large ecstasy shipment had been arranged for export from Amsterdam and between Paris and Dublin the 30,000 to 40,000 tablets had gone missing.
Mr Delaney said his son, Robert, was a "big player" in the drugs scene in Dublin and was responsible for him getting into drug-dealing.
He said that after depression and alcoholism left him unable to work and with large debts, Robert told him drug-dealing would be an easy way out of it. "He had contacts, I didn't. The part I was to play was to purely just to collect the money," he said. "He was very well known. A big mover, I think they call it. One of the top people."
He said the drugs were originally to be collected at a different location from the pub subsequently chosen for the "drop". He said the "rip" happened when a named man, sent to collect the drugs from another man at a northside pub, had a gun put to his head and was told to "drop the bag" allegedly containing the drugs.
The gunman, claiming to be from the Garda, "flashed a badge" at the courier, Mr Delaney said. "I was concerned with the parcel. It was my responsibility and I would have to answer for that." The case, before Mr Justice Quirke and a jury, resumes today.