A leading member of slain Marlo Hyland's crime gang told gardai who arrested him that he was "next to be killed".

Gangster John Mangan (41) told gardai who arrested him in a pub armed with a gun that he was in fear for his life -- from the same people who murdered his gang boss.

Mangan was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment yesterday over a major drugs seizure at Browns Bar pub car park in Citywest. He will serve the sentence consecutive to an earlier 14-year term for possession of a gun, and for another drugs seizure.

The Herald can reveal that when Mangan was caught with the gun, in the toilet of the Comet Pub in Santry, he told detectives that a certain man intended to murder him, and he needed the gun for protection.

Murder

The man is believed to be a fellow Hyland gang member, who conspired with others to murder Hyland in December 2006.

A number of threats were issued in the months following Hyland's murder by the core group that took over the running of the gang. The new leaders of the gang believed that Mangan was a weak link and gardai believed they planned to murder him.

He later told gardai that he had been shot at and his home had been shot at, and that he himself was aware of "eight to 10" threats on his life.

A security source told the Herald: "Mangan was a bag of nerves in the months following the Hyland murder. Fears of double crossing within the gang and threats flying about led him to live a life on the run, mainly. When he was caught with the gun, it was almost a relief for him."

Mangan had been officially notified of a threat to his life by gardai in early 2007, shortly before he was caught in possession of the firearm. He has been in custody ever since that arrest and it will be 2027 before he is freed, after yesterday's sentencing hearing for the Brown's Barn seizure.

Another man, William Hynes (43), was sentenced to 12 years for his part in the drugs plot. Both men were caught by gardai in possession of more than €2m of cannabis resin at the car park of Brown's Barn Public House at Citywest, west Dublin in July 2006. Their boss Hyland was murdered five months later.

A co-accused, Darren Hamilton (24), was given a nine-year sentence with the last 18 months suspended by Judge Katherine Delahunt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on July 31, 2009, for his part in this operation.

Hamilton, of Kippure Park, Finglas, had pleaded guilty to possession of drugs for sale or supply at Browns Barn on July 31, 2006.

Mangan is originally from Gloucester Place in the north inner city but lived at Whitestown Green in Blanchardstown. He was suspected of supplying motorcycles to Hyland for use by gang members.

Cannabis

The Browns Barn seizure trial heard how gardai saw 354kg of cannabis resin in 14 vacuum packed boxes, with a street value of €2.5m, was unloaded from an articulated truck at Baldonnell industrial estate and loaded into a white Ford Transit van.

Gardai arrested Hamilton as he drove from the scene and arrested Hynes and Mangan nearby as they attempted to flee the area in the green Citroen C5.

hnews@herald.ie

- Cormac Looney and Fiona Ferguson