Rumours that Dublin crime kingpin Freddie Thompson had been murdered in his Spanish hideout have been found to be false after he was spotted leaving a gym on the Costa del Sol.'Fat' Freddie had been told by gardai that his life is in danger and he fled the country after it is believed several criminal gangs and individuals got together to plan to have him murdered.Several plans have been made in recent weeks to shoot and bomb Thompson and his leading associates, and his grandparent's home in the Coombe has even been targeted by gunmen in one of many attacks and shootings.Thompson is known to be at war with a rival criminal drugs gang in the ongoing Crumlin/ Drimnagh feud, as well as with a suspected INLA member.
The Thompson/INLA feud developed out of the Crumlin/ Drimnagh feud which began in 2001 and has now claimed 10 lives in tit-for-tat killings.
Others believed to be out for blood in a €100,000 contract include Martin 'The Viper' Foley, after Thompson's associates were believed to be behind the fourth attempt on his life when he was gunned down outside a gym in January.
Thompson was tracked to a gym near Puerto Banus in Marbella, an area that has become a haven for drug gangs."There are some days you could go into that gym and meet every major player operating in the Costa region. Criminals from different gangs are all training together and discussing business while pumping iron," said one source.
But while Thompson may be far away from the Irish hitmen who want him dead, he also knows the dangers that face him in Spain and is said to be paranoid about his security.Last February his trusted hitman Paddy Doyle was murdered in what many believe was an attempt on Thompson's own life.Thompson fled Ireland after massive tensions between his own gang and the gang controlled by a suspected INLA member in recent months.
Both mobs have been using bombs, bullets and fragmentation grenades to try and wipe each other out on Dublin streets. The heat was taken out of the feud when the INLA suspect was arrested recently and is in custody on charges of being a member of an illegal organisation.