A CONVICTED killer serving a life sentence who is regarded as the leader of one of the Republic’s most violent drugs gangs has had cosmetic surgery for a scar on the public health service.
The surgery for the scar on his lip can be carried out if facial scarring is causing low self esteem. It can also be carried out if there are problems of tightness around the scarring.
For a prisoner to undergo such a cosmetic treatment is unheard of.
Coupled with this, the man’s violent background and alleged continued criminality while in prison are likely to make the case even more controversial.
The inmate who underwent the cosmetic procedure was found to have a pet budgie in his cell on the gangland landing in Portlaoise Prison, where he is still held, when the jail was raided by gardaí in 2007.
He was also found in possession of a mobile phone in his cell the following year.
The prisoner was named in a court case a number of years ago as having directed a gunman and his associate to a pub, where they shot dead one of his rivals. The Dubliner is in his 30s and has been well known to gardaí since he was in his teens.
As well as serving life for murder, he has a conviction for drug dealing. Before being jailed for life he was shot and wounded in what gardaí believe was a murder attempt by a rival gang.
He had consultations and the cosmetic procedure on his lip performed on the public health service in April and May of last year.
He was escorted from Portlaoise Prison in Co Laois to a Dublin hospital by a prison officer and Army escort on several occasions for consultations and to have the procedure carried out.
The cost of the consultation, procedure and numerous joint Army-prison officer escorts between Portlaoise and the hospital is not known.
The Irish Prison Service declined to comment on the case “due to medical confidentiality”.