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GUN-TOTING DRUG LORD

Hit-attempt hood tools up for weapons training

MEET drug baron Tony 'Skitter' Finglas, whose life is under threat following a gun attack on his home last week.

The portly thug, who models himself on fictional gangsters like Tony Soprano, is suspected of being the main heroin supplier in Drogheda, Co. Louth.

A gunman fired shots at his home on Tuesday but as our pictures show, his attackers are not the only ones adept at handling firearms.

The exclusive images show Finglas posing with an arsenal of weapons - including automatic rifles, pump-action shotguns, revolvers and semi-automatic handguns - during weapons training in the sleazy Thai city of Pattaya.

Commenting on one picture which showed a target Finglas fired at, he boasted: "What can I say, five out of six from a .38 isn't bad ha, ha, ha, you wouldn't be getting up after it, I can rest assure you."

GANGSTER'S GUNS 'N' POSES

MEET the drug dealer who was targeted in a gun attack on his home on Tuesday. A gunman opened fire outside the home of convicted criminal Tony 'Skitter' Finglas (40) around 12.40am on Tuesday.

One shot was fired at the door of the house while another hit a 4x4 vehicle in the driveway.

Luckily nobody was injured in the attack which is believed to be linked to a local dispute.

It is understood that a man pulled a gun on Finglas in another recent incident and a window was smashed at his home on Tuesday.

Republicans have reportedly demanded cash from Finglas so he can continue to ply his trade.

It is, however, unclear if this is linked to the shooting incident. However, it would appear that those who have targeted him are not the only ones used to handling guns.

Our exclusive pictures show Finglas taking part in firearms training abroad in May. The tubby thug happily poses for the camera with an arsenal of weapons including automatic rifles, pump-action shotguns, revolvers and semi-automatic handguns in the sleazy Thai city of Pattaya.

The gold-chain-wearing gangster's holiday snaps also show his handywork on a target with one of the weapons.

Weapons

He boasts: "What can I say, five out of six from a .38 isn't bad ha, ha, ha, you wouldn't be getting up after it, I can rest assure you."

Finglas fired the weapons at the Camp Chang Shooting Range in Pattaya in May. A number of other pictures also show him with his arm around Thai beauties and Irish pals while out in Pattaya which has been notorious for its nightlife and prostitution for decades.

In other pictures taken at home, Finglas drinks a bottle of Bacardi Breezer as he poses in front of a framed picture featuring his idols - gangsters from The Godfather, Scarface, Goodfellas and The Sopranos.

Finglas is well known to gardai and has convictions for drug dealing, assault and a number of other offences.

He is suspected of being the major heroin supplier in the Drogheda area.

"He's been caught before but he's a lot more careful now. He makes sure not to touch the stuff himself," said a source.

As far back as 1996 he was barred from all pubs and licensed premises in Drogheda by the local district court.

Garda Paul Carrigy had arrested Finglas on Church Street for public order offences in November of that year. The thug launched into a tirade of abuse and threats at the officer. Sources say he can be abusive to gardai when he has drink taken.

He was caught with hundreds of ecstasy tablets in Drogheda in February 1998. Garda Brian Morrissey stopped Finglas in a car on Constitution Hill after receiving confidential information about the drug pusher.

Finglas struggled with the drugs unit officer and threw a bag full of around 450 ecstasy tablets over a wall. Finglas fled but later gave himself up at Drogheda Garda Station.

He claimed to gardai that he had seen two men acting suspiciously in a field two days before the incident. He said he subsequently went into the field and found a jar containing the drugs. He claimed his life had been threatened as a result of taking the pills and he was on 23-hour lock-up in Wheatfield Prison because of fears for his safety.

He also said his girlfriend was also approached by two men who said they wanted £2,500 for the drugs.

Finglas received a five-year sentence for possession of drugs for supply. He was already serving a three-year sentence for assault imposed in March that year.

Cocaine

He returned to his criminal ways after being released from prison. He brandished a knife at gardai after they found him bagging €5,000 worth of cocaine at his apartment at Fitzwilliam Court in November 2005.

Gardai smashed their way into the apartment and found Finglas bagging cocaine in the living room while another man threw bags of cocaine into the street.

Finglas threw a towel at gardai and picked up a meat cleaver but thought better of it after an officer drew his gun. He also swallowed a pack of pure cocaine and had to be hospitalised until it passed through him.

Gardai found €650 in his pocket when they brought him back to Drogheda Garda Station. When he was asked if the money was his, he replied: "'Yes, dead right, it's f***ing mine. I worked hard for it."

He also told gardai he was "caught by the b*****ks" when they raided the apartment. He cheekily tried to get the cash returned to
him by claiming he earned it honestly.

However, the judge disagreed and said it most likely came from crime.

He received a three-year sentence for that offence. He previously told a court that he started using drugs in Mountjoy after he was given morphine when he received burn injuries.

He had connections to Paul Reay who was gunned down in Drogheda in 2006 by member of Martin 'Marlo' Hyland's crime gang.

The 26-year-old father-of-three was shot at least three times in the chest by a gunman posing as a road worker because he was suspected of being an informant.

Hyland, who was himself shot dead a month after Reay, accused the Drogheda man of informing the gardai about a cocaine-mixing operation, which resulted in a drugs seizure at Mooneystown, Athboy, Co Meath, in August 2006.

Finglas is also understood to have links to criminal figures based in north Dublin.

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