A 23-YEAR-OLD man is appearing in Tullamore District Court this afternoon in connection with the murder of Christy Daly.

Daly, 47, was found dead in a drain at Kilbride near Clara, Co Offaly on 29 December last. He had been shot several times and his body was lying close to a mobile home where he had been living since his release from Portlaoise jail just a few weeks earlier.

The man appearing before court today is the third person to be charged in relation to the case.

Two more men, aged 24 and 25, were arrested in Dublin this morning and have been taken for questioning to Tullamore Garda Station.

In total, eight people have now been arrested to date in relation to the investigation. Gardaí say the arrests “resulted from a targeted investigation into an organised crime gang trafficking drugs throughout the Midlands and West of Ireland”.

“An Garda Síochána is committed to pro-actively targeting groups and individuals engaged in all forms of criminal activity,” a statement from the force says.

The statement continues:

An Garda Síochána have conducted a major investigation in relation to the murder with significant local resources from the Laois/Offaly Garda Division, supported by Gardaí from specialist units such the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and The Emergency Response Unit, augmented by local detective units and Divisional Search Teams.

During the course of the investigation, 50 searches were carried out and 135 people have so far been interviewed.