Spanish cops arrest suspected Irish fugitive over the murder of hitman in Dublin

Spanish cops have arrested a suspected Irish fugitive – over the murder of this hitman in Dublin.

The Irish Mirror has confirmed that the suspect was arrested on the Costa del Sol earlier this week. Sources have told us he was detained on foot of an extradition request by Irish authorities over the May 28, 2019 murder in north Dublin of Iranian hitman Hamid Sanambar, who was blamed for the killing of local criminal Sean Little a week earlier.

Little (22) had been shot dead near the Walshestown exit of the M1 in north Dublin – and gardaí believe Sanambar was killed in revenge for that murder. Sanambar (41) was shot dead outside Sean Little’s home in north Dublin as people attended the victim’s wake on May 28 - but nobody has ever been charged with his death.

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But we have established that the suspect, who was questioned by gardaí in December 2021 before being released without charge, is to be charged with Sanambar’s gun murder. Gangland sources in Spain say the suspect proclaims his innocence, however.

Gardaí secured a European Arrest Warrant for him, which means the Director of Public Prosecutions has already ordered he is to be charged with murder.

The EAW was sent to Spanish police when gardaí became aware the Dubliner was in the country and cops arrested him over a minor and unrelated suspected crime in the Calahonda area of the Costa del Sol on Tuesday.

The cops then checked him on the system and realised there was an EAW out for him – and alerted authorities here. The suspect, who is in his 30s, is now in custody in Spain ahead of an extradition hearing.

Depending on whether he agrees to the extradition or fights it, it is likely to be several months before he is sent back to Dublin – when he will then be charged and brought to court.

Coolock murder victim Hamid Sanambar

The suspect was arrested by gardaí in December 2021 after he flew home from Spain – where he has been living on and off for several years - and handed himself into detectives at Coolock station probing the gun murder from May 28 of that year.

He was held for almost a week but was then released without charge – and flew back to Spain. But gardaí continued with their probe and in late 2022 were given instructions by the DPP to charge him.

Sanambar was shot dead in the driveway of Little's home on Kilbarron Avenue, Coolock, Dublin. He was blamed for setting up Sean Little, who was found dead beside a burning car seven days earlier.

It was the third murder in seven days as part of the Coolock feud, which claimed five lives in 2019. The hit team on the day consisted of two men, who used a Toyota Avensis - bought from a car dealership in preceding weeks - as the getaway car.

Hamid Sanambar (left) was shot dead outside Sean Little's house on Kilbarron Avenue in Coolock, north Dublin

Following the murder of Sanambar, Little's father Stephen continued on the war path to avenge his son's murder. In September of 2019, Little senior, now 52, was intercepted by the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, who suspected he was on his way to kill Caolan Smyth, a Kinahan cartel hitman who he also blamed for his son's death.

Little told gardaí after his arrest: "Had you given me another hour, I would have killed the bastard that killed him." He was later jailed for six years for possession of a gun. Gun-for-hire Smyth is also now serving a 20-year sentence after the attempted murder of Hutch associate James "Mago" Gately in 2017.

Smyth - who had been hired by the Kinahan cartel to kill Mago - had become a major player in the Coolock feud before his conviction. The dispute in North Dublin also claimed the lives of Zach Parker, 23, and 22-year-old Eoin Boylan.

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