Six year inquiry clears officer of involvement in death of alleged drug dealer
Allegations that an officer was involved in the 2001 murder of a suspected drug dealer have been dismissed by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI).
In 2012, a man told the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) that he believed alleged drug dealer Paul Daly was killed by an officer he was reportedly in business with.
However, the PONI found no evidence of police involvement in the murder or any grounds to discipline or prosecute officers.
Mr Daly, 38, was shot ten times as he sat in a car with partner Jacqueline Conroy in Belfast’s Stephen Street in May 2001.
Nine years later, a man contacted police in the Netherlands claiming to have information about the murder.
The case was referred to the PSNI, which made several attempts to locate the man before he contacted the force in 2012.
The man claimed he had been watching a County Antrim house in the months before the murder where he believed Mr Daly kept his “drugs money”, as he was planning to steal it.
During this time, he reported seeing the officer visiting the property.
The man believed the officer had been in business with Mr Daly, who had threatened to expose his illegal activity.
On the morning of the murder he claimed to have seen Mr Daly and the officer in a car being followed by a police surveillance team.
The PONI was asked to investigate given the serious nature of the allegations and reviewed PSNI records including information alleging Mr Daly had seen unnamed officers carrying out a rape.
The police records said Mr Daly had tried to use this information to “get police on his side”, but officers could find no information to corroborate the claim.
A retired officer involved in the murder inquiry remembered the rape allegation but said there was no evidence supporting it.
PONI inquiries also established Mr Daly was not under police surveillance on the day of his death.