Gardai in Dundalk are investigating a number of possible motives for the weekend murder of Nicholas O'Hare, who was a convicted extortionist.
Preliminary results from the post-mortem examination indicated that O'Hare died after being shot either eight or nine times from a semi-automatic pistol. His murder bore the hallmarks of a professional killing.
"There is no shortage of people or reasons why he may have been shot", said one detective working on the murder investigation.
Apart from the enemies he made from demanding protection money and through extortion, he was also suspected of involvement in a number of murders and punishment shootings.
Gardai are looking at the possibility that the INLA may not have wanted to be associated with O'Hare after the murder of a Dundalk publican, Mr Stephen Connolly, a killing O'Hare is believed to have had carried out by one of his gang members.
"We don't think he was the gunman involved in Mr Connolly's murder, but it was carried out by one of his men", the detective added.
Gardai are also examining whether any of the people who had suffered so-called punishment attacks may have sought revenge. O'Hare was suspected of carrying out at least two punishment shootings in the Dundalk area in the past two years.
The possibility that he may have been killed as a result of alleged involvement in the murder of a Dublin man, Mr Pat Neville, in April was last night ruled out by Garda sources in that investigation.
However, another source said he believed O'Hare had exchanged strong words last week with a republican and had even threatened that man's life. Neither the gardai nor Sinn Fein in Dundalk could confirm this.
Claims that over a dozen publicans were paying O'Hare £600 a week in protection money were denied. One source said that the figure was no more than £200 or £300.
O'Hare had a lengthy criminal record, having been convicted of possession of a sawn-off shotgun and of attempting to extort £48,000 from a Dublin businessman, whose father he assaulted, claiming that the man owed him £4,000.
O'Hare's remains were removed to Belfast late on Sunday night by members of his family. No details of the funeral arrangements have been made public.
Meanwhile, gardai in Dundalk are appealing for witnesses to the shooting. They want anyone who saw anything of a suspicious nature in the Church Street area of the town between 10 p.m. on Saturday and 1.30 a.m. on Sunday to contact them.