The house where Marlo Hyland was killed

This is the house where two hitmen murdered Martin "Marlo" Hyland and apprentice plumber Anthony Campbell.

It is located at 8 Scribblestown Park in Finglas, Dublin.

Operation Oak

Hyland was a Dublin-based drug boss.

During the 1990s, he was a member of a criminal organization led by PJ "The Psycho" Judge. A hitman killed Judge in December 1996 while he sat in a car outside a pub in Finglas.

Investigators suspected Hyland's involvement, as he immediately took control of the gang after the shooting.

By the mid-2000s, Hyland's crew had established links with other criminal organizations and carried out a series of armed robberies. Within a year, they stole an estimated €3 million from security vans.

In September 2005, the Gardaí (Irish police) launched "Operation Oak" to target the gangster and his network.

This increased activity put Hyland's gang under severe pressure.

Seizures of drug shipments, weapons, and cash strained the organization's finances. Gardaí also arrested and charged over 20 gang members with serious offenses.

As his funds dwindled, Hyland struggled to pay his lieutenants and suppliers.

In November 2006, he allegedly arranged the killing of Latvian national Baiba Saulite on behalf of a Limerick-based gang. The murder of a civilian drew intense scrutiny from law enforcement and was regarded as a serious misstep within criminal circles.

The seizures, arrests, and Hyland's implication in Saulite's death isolated him from his associates.

Shortly after, Hyland ordered the shooting of Michael "Roly" Cronin, a heroin trafficker to whom he owed a substantial debt. When the attempt failed, Hyland's lieutenants seized the opportunity to turn against him.

After conferring with Cronin and other unpaid associates, they decided to kill their boss.

Hyland soon learned he was a target, as the Gardaí visited him twice to warn him of a credible threat to his life.

According to family members, he became depressed and paranoid.

To vary his routine, he moved between Kippure Park in Finglas and St. Attracta's Road in Cabra.

His niece recalled that he carried a samurai sword around the house and refused to open the door for strangers.

Sensing his time was running out, Hyland reportedly tried to heal family rifts.

Scribblestown Park

Hyland slept at his niece's house in Scribblestown Park in South Finglas on the night of December 11, 2006.

The following morning, 20-year-old apprentice plumber Anthony Campbell and his boss arrived at the address to fix a broken radiator.

Campbell's boss drove to a local hardware store to purchase supplies for another job. Soon after, Hyland's niece also left the house to take her child to school.

Campbell stayed to work on the radiator while Hyland slept upstairs.

Murders

At approximately 9:20 a.m., two hitmen entered the property. Investigators believe the plumber opened the door to his killers, as there were no signs of forced entry.

One intruder crept upstairs while the other held Campbell at gunpoint.

The gunman upstairs shot Hyland six times at close range as he slept.

With Hyland dead, the gunmen turned to Campbell. Fearing he might identify them, they shot him in the head.

Campbell was a bystander, killed simply for being present. His family said he had agreed to take the apprenticeship to earn extra money before Christmas.

His murder sparked public outrage, as a young civilian had lost his life to the escalating gangland violence.

2006 was a particularly bloody year for organized crime in the country. Hyland and Campbell's deaths brought the number of killings to 23. By the end of December, three more men were murdered.

Although Gardaí suspected Hyland's former associates, no one was ever charged with the crime.

Detectives believe the shooting was orchestrated by Hyland's lieutenant, Eamon Dunne, and other men to whom he owed money.

Dunne took control of the gang following Hyland's death. Three years later, he was fatally shot in a pub in Cabra.