WEST Belfast murder victim Kevin Conway was assassinated because his former gang mates in the Firm – a notorious drugs gang that operates in the Lurgan, Craigavon and Portadown area – believed that he was an informer.

A source has also revealed to us that the Firm contracted his execution out to a West Belfast murder gang behind a series of execution-style killings, including that of Jim Donegan on the Glen Road in December 2018, and Sean Fox in the Donegal Celtic Social Club on the Suffolk Road in October 2022.

Conway’s killing, says our source, is a brutal attempt by the Firm to send out a clear message to other members of the crime gang not to turn tout. The murdered man was himself facing charges in connection with a drugs-related killing.

Kevin Conway was originally from the Kilwilkie estate in Lurgan. He had been staying at the Shaws Road address where he was brutally murdered as part of his bail conditions. The 26-year-old was facing charges in connection with the murder of Shane Whitla in Lurgan on January 12 last year. It's believed Whitla owed drugs money to the Firm.

Kevin Conway
2Gallery

Kevin Conway

Conway was accused of setting Whitla up with a series of phone-calls luring him to the scene of his murder, carried out by other members of the Firm. However, Conway’s bail address in West Belfast presented the Firm with the ideal opportunity to carry out the assassination, we've been told.

When the Firm realised that Conway was staying at a flat in Rossnareen Park, they contracted the killing out to the notorious West Belfast murder squad whose modus operandi is working strictly within the West Belfast area, and after shooting dead their victim slipping quietly into neighbouring streets without the use of a getaway car, thus reducing the risk of leaving forensic evidence behind.

Kevin Conway was shot multiple times at his home in Rossnareen Park on Tuesday night and died at the scene.

His murder is the first time that the Firm has contracted out an assassination, our source says. "To put it simply," our source says, "they paid others to do the job because they aren’t good at it. Drug dealing is their expertise. And with the collapse of the Kinahan cartel in Dublin they have set their sights on rapidly expanding their business."

Our source said after the Firm found out Conway was living in West Belfast, “It was no surprise. It was only a matter of time.”