Gardaí examine house of suspected drugs dealer in hunt for clues to fate of missing pair

GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING the disappearance and presumed murders of two men have examined a house seeking clues to their fate.

GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING the disappearance and presumed murders of two men have examined a house seeking clues to their fate.

The property searched yesterday is in a housing estate just outside Dublin and is owned by a drug dealer from the city who was one of the last people to see the two missing men alive.

A major Garda investigation began at the end of July after David Lyndsay (38) and Alan Napper (39) had been missing for a week. The men, who are both from Baldoyle, north Dublin, were last seen in a car in Clane, Co Kildare on Wednesday July 23rd.

Mr Lyndsay was known to be associated with a number of people involved in organised crime.

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One of his associates, Anthony Foster (34), was shot dead outside his flat in Coolock, Dublin, the week before the two men disappeared.

Mr Foster was a convicted drug dealer. Gardaí believe his murder was drugs-related.

The Garda investigation into the disappearance of Mr Lyndsay and Mr Napper is now focused on Mr Lyndsay's criminal associates.

One theory is that on the day of their disappearance the men had driven to Northern Ireland in a car borrowed from a friend.

Gardaí believe Mr Lyndsay may have been lured to his death by the men he had gone to meet and that Mr Napper may have been shot dead by the same men simply because he was with Mr Lyndsay.

Gardaí have also learned that a drug dealer from Kilbarrack in Dublin owed Mr Lyndsay money and was not in a position to repay him. This man is regarded by many in Dublin's criminal fraternity as the chief suspect in the men's disappearance and presumed double murder.

The man is said to be in fear of his life and has fled to Spain.

Yesterday a team from the Garda Technical Bureau examined the house just outside Dublin.

Garda sources said the property was selected for a forensic search because its owner was one of the last people to see the missing men alive.

"We're looking for any information that might tell us what happened to them or where they are now," said one Garda source.

The house is owned by a suspected drug dealer originally from Dublin's north inner city.

The man, who is in his 30s, has been supplying large quantities of cannabis to gangs in the Midlands, particularly Co Laois and Co Offaly, for at least six years.

Gardaí have received a large volume of intelligence which suggests the missing men were shot dead north of the Border and their bodies dumped there.

However, the intelligence has not been specific enough to pinpoint a location.

The black VW Golf, registration 05 KE 11419, in which the men were last seen has not been found.

Mr Lyndsay's family reported him missing when they heard nothing from him for a week.

Around the same time the man who loaned the missing men his car reported the vehicle was missing.

The men's disappearance, presumed murder, is being investigated by gardaí from Raheny, Naas and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Conor Lally

Conor Lally

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times