The Provisional IRA may have shot dead a drug dealer in Co Down, police sources in Northern Ireland said tonight.
Senior security sources have linked republican paramilitaries to the murder of Matthew Burns (26) who had survived two previous attempt on his life.
He was gunned down as he travelled with his brother Patrick in a car along Burrenbridge Road, Castlewellan, Co Down.
No organisation has claimed responsibility for the shooting, in which the dead man's brother was also injured.
But detectives have not ruled out the possibility that the Provisional IRA were responsible. Using the cover name of Direct Action Against Drugs (DAAD), the IRA have carried out several assassinations in the past.
Police investigating last night's murder also believe top republicans had been brought in from Belfast. "I suspect it was part of the whole DAAD thing," one senior security source said.
Mr Patrick Burns, who was driving the white Toyota, was taken to hospital suffering from gunshot wounds to his chest and arm. He was tonight in a stable condition.
The dead man, who had recently become a father, was a well known local drug dealer who had been attacked in the past, according to sources.
PA