GARDAÍ in Limerick are hopeful that the results of forensic tests analysed over the bank holiday weekend could lead to a breakthrough in the Roy Collins murder inquiry.
The 35-year-old was shot dead while working at his business premises, the CoinCastle Arcade, in the Roxboro Shopping Centre in Limerick last Thursday.
Gardaí believe the father of two was targeted because a member of his family gave evidence against a leading member of the McCarthy-Dundon criminal gang in a criminal trial four years ago.
Wayne Dundon (30) was jailed for seven years after he was convicted of threatening to kill Roy Collins’s first cousin Ryan Lee at Brannigan’s Bar in Limerick in December 2004.
A 19-year-old youth was arrested at a house in the Ballinacurra Weston area of the city shortly after the killing. A 22-year-old man was arrested around the same time in the Weston area.
Both men appeared before a special sitting of Limerick District Court on Saturday, where the State was successful in its application to have their periods of detention extended by 72 hours.
The application was made under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007, which enables gardaí to detain suspects for up to seven days.
Judge Aeneas McCarthy said he was satisfied that the murder investigation was being carried out in a “diligent and expeditious” manner, and granted the 72-hour extension.
There was a large Garda presence for the court hearing, which heard that up to 100 gardaí from across the southern region backed up by members of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation are involved in the murder inquiry.
Chief Supt John Kerin told the court that staff at the forensic laboratory in Dublin would be working over the weekend on samples seized as part of the investigation.
The two men detained are due to be either released or charged by lunchtime tomorrow.
The handgun used to kill Roy Collins has not been recovered, and gardaí last night renewed their appeal for anyone who may have seen a black Mercedes Benz, registration number 06D 528070, which was used as the getaway vehicle, to contact them.
The car was stolen in Dublin on March 30th and was found on fire at Mill Lane, Rosbrien, about a mile from the scene of the shooting.
Members of the public who may have seen this car along the route are asked to contact the dedicated incident room at Roxboro Garda station on 061-214349 or the Garda Confidential line, 1800 666 111.
“Gardaí wish to reassure the public that any information received will be treated in the strictest confidence,” said a Garda spokesman.
Speaking in Limerick at the weekend, Assistant Garda Commissioner Kevin Ludlow said gardaí were determined to face down the ruthless criminal gangs operating in Limerick.
He said the response from the public so far was “fantastic”, which he added was “very heartening for the gardaí battling against crime in Limerick”.
He also praised the courage of Mr Collins’s family, and said their bravery proved that the people of Limerick would not let “a small group of people” run their lives.
“Roy Collins’s father Stephen in his interview with the media made a very determined and resolute consideration that he would probably do the same again, and I think that is an indication of the determination of the people of Limerick not to become subject to this type of ruthless criminal element within them and [not] to allow them to determine the quality of life in Limerick city,” said Mr Ludlow.