Hitman Nathan Killeen caught with phone in jail after sending 'explicit' photos to young woman

A complaint was made by a member of the public, resulting in him being searched at Castlerea Prison last week and a phone being discovered, according to sources.

In a follow-up search the next day by officers from the Operational Support Group (OSG), tablets were found hidden in a Red Cross key ring, an organisation of which he is a volunteer member.

The latest seizure of a phone and tablets in prison is not the first time Nathan Killeen has been caught with contraband while serving his time.

In 2017, he was involved in a serious breach of security when it emerged three of the Dundon brothers had access to the internet from the high-security Portlaoise Prison.

Drugs, phones and weapons were seized during the operation involving teams from the OSG.

The target of the search was the unit occupied by Wayne, Dessie and John Dundon and their loyal sidekick Killeen.

The gang had stashed four phones, including an iPhone, along with steroids, syringes, makeshift weapons and computer sticks to connect to TV-streaming websites.

Three of the cell doors had been barricaded from the inside to prevent a surprise raid by prison officers, according to sources.

The gangsters were caught unexpectedly, although Wayne managed to throw a phone from the cell window, which was later recovered.

It was claimed that the gang boss then defecated and challenged officers to search him before he was removed from the cell.

John and Nathan are also said to have tried to resist the officers who came to search the unit, according to sources, but were quickly subdued and removed.

Now aged 31, Killeen is serving a life sentence for his role in the murder of businessman Roy Collins in 2009 on the orders of gang boss Wayne Dundon.

The infamous murder of the innocent businessman provoked outrage at the time at the growing arrogance of the Limerick's drug gangs.

The 35-year-old father of two, who was engaged to be married, died in hospital a short time after he was shot.

His father, Steve Collins, was believed to have been the intended target of the murder, because of his involvement in a previous successful prosecution against Dundon for a threat to kill.

Both Dundon and Killeen were convicted and sentenced to life at the Special Criminal Court, where they had pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.

Killeen had been found hiding in the attic of a house in Limerick, where he was arrested at gunpoint a few hours shortly after the shooting.

The gunman who pulled the trigger, James Dillon, was jailed for life for the murder in 2010 after he admitted his part in the killing.

In July 2014, the three-judge Special Criminal Court found Wayne Dundon had ordered the murder from prison and that Killeen was the getaway driver for the gunman, James Dillon.

Both men refused to come to court to hear their appeals being refused in 2017 and their convictions upheld.

Killeen's sister Ciara is the ex-partner of John Dundon, Wayne's brother, who is also serving life for the murder of innocent rugby player Shane Geoghegan in another killing that hastened the gang's demise.

On the outside, Nathan Killeen had been a notorious thug and was convicted in 2011 of an aggravated burglary before his arrest for the Collins murder.

Originally from O'Malley Park, Southill, Limerick, Nathan Killeen was part of the Dundon gang at an early age.

In 2006, following the murder of drug dealer 'Fat Frankie' Ryan in Moyross, a 16-year-old Killeen was photographed with gang members behind a floral tribute from the Dundon brothers.

By the time he was convicted of murder, Killeen had already amassed 97 convictions.