Ruthless gangster Cornelius Price ordered a criminal rival to be executed because he refused to pay a 30,000 euros drug "tax."
The notorious villain was furious when Benny Whitehouse, 36, decided to stop buying drugs off his gang and switch to a separate source.
But evil Price, who died from a brain illness only a few weeks ago, told Whitehouse if he and his cohorts were going to sell their drugs purchased elsewhere around North County Dublin he had to pay a price.
Garda sources said he demanded a 30k tax and Whitehouse refused to pay.
Whitehouse was a small-time criminal around the Balbriggan area and had occasional dealings with Price. Price lived in a compound a couple of miles away in Gormanstown on the border between Dublin and Meath.
A Garda source said; " Price was livid Whitehouse would not buy drugs off him and told him in no uncertain terms he had to pay a 30,000 drugs tax. When Benny refused he ordered him to be shot.
" He was assassinated in the middle of Balbriggan in broad daylight after he dropped his six year old off to school. His girlfriend was also shot and injured.
"It was a cruel and callous attack. Price wanted to show all his enemies that there would be no mercy if they didn't deal with him.
"Benny died in the arms of one of the Gardai who arrived at the scene and tried to keep him alive until an ambulance arrived.
" He didn't deserve to die the way he did but Price didn't bat an eyelid."
No one has ever been charged with the murder although Price is suspected of bringing in a lone hitman from Britain to carry out the hit.
The assassination caused huge anger in Balbriggan at the time.
Price was aligned to the Traveller gang involved in the long running Drogheda drugs feud against a group of much younger criminals from the north-east.
Gardai suspect he was involved in organising the subsequent hits on Keith Brannigan and Richie Carberry in August and November 2019 in Clogherhead and Bettystown respectively.
The Garda source added "It is a great pity Price will never stand trial for all the deaths he ordered. "
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