Cartel killer was 'on way to carry out assassination' when he accidentally shot himself in the head

A DUBLIN MAN found with a gunshot wound to his head was on his way to carry out a gangland assassination before his death, gardaí believe.

Glen Clarke, from Cabra, north Dublin, was discovered in a van wearing a boiler suit in December. A handgun was also discovered in the vehicle leading gardaí to believe he was on the way to kill someone, the Sunday Times reported today.

However, gardaí believe that Clarke may have been on his way to kill Noel ‘Duck Egg’ Kirwan.

The van, which was discovered in Leixlip, Kildare on 2 December was fitted with false number plates.

While gardaí believe there to be a number of potential targets of this assassination attempt, detectives believe that a close associate of the Hutch family was to be taken out.

Investigation

Officers have not identified the intended target of the shooting. However, one avenue of investigation is that Noel ‘Duck Egg’ Kirwan was the target. The estate where Clarke was discovered dead was less than a 10 minute drive away from where Kirwan was eventually killed days before Christmas.

Security sources have told TheJournal.ie that Kirwan was involved in a row with members of the Kinahan cartel days before Clarke died.

It is believed Kirwan, who was a friend of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch, was acting as a go-between for the cartel and a finance professional the Kinahans believed to be helping the Hutch gang.

The professional went to gardaí days after claiming he was shot at outside his home in south Dublin at the end of November.

Kirwan had gone to members of the cartel and pleaded with them to leave the man alone and to stop the bloodshed. On 23 December, a gunman walked up to Kirwan’s car in Clondalkin and shot him with a silenced handgun.

Gardaí confirmed they are investigating all aspects of Clarke’s sudden death.

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