Man released in Dublin murder case

Gardaí investigating the murder of Dublin man Ciarán Noonan (29) have released a man this morning arrested in relation to the…

Gardaí investigating the murder of Dublin man Ciarán Noonan (29) have released a man this morning arrested in relation to the killing.

The body of the father of one, who had been missing for two weeks, was found on Friday night at farmland in Co Meath. The exact spot where the remains lay was identified after information was passed to gardaí earlier on Friday.

The man, who was held last night, was released without charge. A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. The man, in his 20s, was detained in north Dublin.

The arrest was the third in the investigation, with two women arrested last week having been released without charge.

A preliminary examination of Mr Noonan's remains was carried out by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Khalid Jabbar on Saturday morning before the remains were taken away for postmortem.

That examination revealed the dead man had died violently, and what had been a missing persons investigation was upgraded to a murder inquiry. The Irish Times understands that given the level of decomposition, further analysis is needed before the exact cause of death can be confirmed.

Gardaí believe the killing was drug-related and is linked to a north Dublin crime gang.

Mr Noonan had been missing since the afternoon of Thursday, October 20th. The last confirmed sighting of him was on Russell Avenue, East Wall, that afternoon. He was seen being beaten by a number of men, at least one of whom was armed with an iron bar, before being bundled into the back of a car and driven off.

Gardaí believe at least four men were involved in the abduction. Detectives believe they have established the identity of all four.