The victim is believed to have been sitting in his auto when the attack happened.
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He was an associate of suspected armed robber Gerry “The Monk” Hutch.
He was also an associate of Gerry Hutch and gardaí are investigating if the attack is connected to the ongoing feud between two criminal gangs in Dublin.
The victim was a known cigarette smuggler who had made a settlement with the Criminal Assets Bureau.
Detectives urged anyone who was in and around The Old Mill housing estate or the Fairyhouse Road in Ratoath this evening to come forward.
Gardai believe Duggan was targeted by Dublin-based members of the organised crime gang lead from Spain by Dubliner Christy Kinahan because he was so closely linked to Hutch.
The Hutch-Kinahan feud sparked off with the murder Gary Hutch in Marbella last September.
Gardai have confirmed that a man in his 50s has been pronounced dead at the scene of tonight’s shooting in Ratoath.
A man has been shot dead at the old Mill housing estate in Rathoath in Co Meath, in an apparent gangland style attack.
“It is unfortunate that gangland activity has been visited on the community in Ratoath but it should not be seen as a reflection on the area”, he said.
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In February the Regency Hotel shooting in Dublin saw David Byrne gunned down at a boxing weigh-in, while Eddie Hutch Snr was murdered three days later on February 8.
