Gardaí were hoping yesterday that a forensic examination of a car they believe was used by the killers of Corkman Eric Cummins will give clues to their identity. Mr Cummins (31), a father of one child, was murdered outside his home in Ballincollig on Saturday.
A Honda car fitting the description of the one used by a gunman and his accomplice was found by gardaí on Sunday morning burnt out at Kilnaglory, Ballincollig, approximately 2.4km (1½ miles) from where Mr Cummins was shot.
Because of its condition it will be difficult for technical experts to gather evidence on the gangland-style killing, which happened at 10pm on Saturday.
The car, which they suspect was stolen, had no registration plates when it was found and officers will be hoping that the car's serial numbers will help them trace its ownership.
Gardaí are keeping an open mind on the possible motives for murder of Mr Cummins, who was known to them and suspected of being a significant supplier on the Cork drug scene.
Gardaí are looking at a number of theories which include the possibility that he may have fallen foul of some of his suppliers from either Limerick or Dublin over payment for drugs.
They are also looking at the possibility that Mr Cummins was blamed by some of the larger players for recent Garda drug seizures and shot as a consequence. However, they are not inclined to believe that the death was linked to a recent €300,000 cocaine seizure near Ballincollig.
It is also suspected that Mr Cummins was a major supplier in north Cork, supplying smaller dealers in towns such as Mallow, Fermoy, Mitchelstown, Charleville and Buttevant. It is understood that he often used violence or the threat of violence to collect money owed to him.
Gardaí are keen to speak to a number of people who may have been threatened by Mr Cummins, although sources doubted that any of the smaller dealers would have the ability or the determination to organise such a professional killing. Officers yesterday received the results of a postmortem examination carried out on Mr Cummins's body at Cork University Hospital by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster. However, for operational reasons they did not reveal her findings.
Supt Tom Hayes of Gurranabraher Garda station appealed to anyone who may have seen the dark-coloured Honda car in the Ballincollig area on Saturday to contact a special incident room at Gurranabraher station in confidence on 021-4946209.
Mr Cummins, a native of the Lough on Cork's southside, will be removed from O'Sullivan's funeral home, Turners Cross, to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, the Lough, tonight. His funeral will take place tomorrow to St Michael's cemetery, Blackrock. This was the first gangland killing in Cork since convicted drug dealer Kieran O'Flynn (40) was shot dead when he answered a knock at his door in Thorndale Estate, Dublin Hill, on Cork's northside on June 7th, 2001.