Court appearance Two men charged with murder of notorious hitman Robbie Lawlor

TWO men have been charged with the murder of notorious hitman Robbie Lawlor in Belfast earlier this year.

The Dublin criminal, who was linked to numerous gangland shootings and murders, was shot dead after being set outside a house on Etna Drive in Belfast on April 4.

The two men, aged 37 and 45, are due to appear before Belfast Magistrates Court this morning.

They are also charged with possession of a firearm.

In a statement released on Friday morning, a PSNI spokesperson said: "Detectives investigating the murder of Robert Lawlor at Etna Drive in Belfast in April have charged two men aged 37 and 45 with murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

“Both men are due to appear at Belfast MC on Friday 11 December.

“As is normal procedure all charges are reviewed by the PPS."

Lawlor had been in the area after arranging to collect a drug debt but was set up for execution. It is believed criminal gangs from south and north of the border combined to set up the killing.

Lawlor was heavily involved in a feud with Dublin criminals linked to the gangboss known as Mr Big and Louth-based criminals linked to the Maguire faction of the Drogheda feud.

He was suspected of involvement in the murder of Keane Mulready Woods (17) who was murder was abducted in Drogheda in January before being murdered and dismembered. His body parts were dumped in north Dublin.

Belfast man Warren Crossan, who was arrested as part of the probe into Lawlor’s murder, was himself shot dead in Belfast in a suspected revenge attack in June.

Crossan, a drug dealer supplied by Dublin drugs gangs, was suspected of providing the getaway car used by Lawlor’s killers.

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Online Editors