Dutch police believe they have identified the gang responsible for killing the heroin-dealer Mr Derek Dunne in Amsterdam at the weekend. It is also understood the two men discovered injured at the scene were both associates of Mr Dunne.
The gang of two or three men, who fled the scene in a car, apparently unharmed, are being sought by a 10-strong team of detectives.
A police spokesman, Supt Klaas Wilting, confirmed yesterday that the 30-year-old Dutch man found seriously injured inside the front door of Mr Dunne's townhouse was not shot by the Dubliner. Sources suggest he was in the house when the gang arrived, although this has not been officially confirmed. The revolver found beside him is undergoing ballistic examination to establish whether it was fired.
Supt Wilting said the shooting began after Mr Dunne shouted at the men to leave after they entered the house. "Then Mr Dunne went outside the house and fell down on the street," he said. More than seven bullets were recovered from the scene, in the western suburb of Slotervaart, he confirmed.
A 25-year-old Englishman, who may be from Liverpool, was forced to bring the gang to Mr Dunne's house and arrived in the car with his hands bound behind his back. He collapsed slightly injured on the street after the gang fled. Their car was later found burnt out in Diemerzeedyk, on the far side of the city. Dutch police have interviewed the two injured men, who are both in custody, along with Mr Dunne's partner, Ms Rachel Mitchell, who shared the house with him and their two children. The injured Dutch man remains in hospital under police guard. Details of his injuries have not been released.
Under Dutch law, he cannot be detained for more than three days without a judge's order. However, this option was not exercised yesterday, and Dutch police have not ruled out the possibility that the men may be released.
Mr Robert Meulenbrook, a spokesman for the Public Prosecutor's Office in Amsterdam, said the fact that the men were injured made the situation difficult.
Police in Amsterdam remain in contact with their colleagues in The Hague but have said there is no immediately evident link with the killing of three Irishmen in Scheveningen a month ago, which was also understood to be drugs-related. They have also ruled out the involvement of any other Irish people in Saturday's incident.
Neighbours on Singerstraat reported hearing the wounded Englishman shout that the killing of Mr Dunne was over a sum of money. Many of those living nearby reported they had been suspicious of the activities around Mr Dunne's house and his ownership of a series of expensive cars. Last year 26 people were murdered in Amsterdam, with 15 of the deaths drug-related. Drug gangs of various nationalities operate from the Netherlands, the hub of the European drug distribution network.
Mr Dunne arrived in Amsterdam from Liverpool four years ago. His body had yet to be released from the city morgue yesterday, and it is thought this will occur today. The Irish Embassy in The Hague had not been contacted by his family yesterday, and the funeral may take place in Amsterdam.