A 36-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested in Northern Ireland in connection with the Belfast murder of Dublin criminal Robbie Lawlor.

Lawlor (36) from Coolock was shot dead by what the PSNI believe was a lone gunman  outside a house in Etna Drive in Belfast on Saturday.

This morning the PSNI has said that a 36-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Four other arrests have been made previously in connection with the killing.

Lawlor had dozens of previous convictions and it’s understood he’d been warned by gardaí his life was in danger. He had been a suspect in the murder of teenager Keane Mulready Woods. 

A number of properties in west Belfast and one in Crumlin have also searched by police investigating the murder.

He was killed on Saturday morning in the Ardoyne area at around 11.50am and police have sought to establish what he was doing there before he was killed

“I do not believe that Robbie was in the Ardoyne yesterday by accident. I believe he had some reason to be there and key lines of enquiry for me at this stage are to establish why he was there and what his connection to the address is,” Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy said over the weekend.

- With reporting by Garreth MacNamee