Gardaí have put a major alert in place after the release of paedophile gangster Christy Griffin from Midlands Prison in Co. Laois today.
The 48-year old convicted sex offender was locked up in 2007 for the rape of his partner’s daughter.
He left the County Laois prison on the back of a motorbike this morning.
At 7.55am this morning a blue and white Suzuki motorbike pulled up at the prison and went to the entrance area, where the driver waited for Mr Griffin to emerge moments later.
Wearing a black jacket, light grey tracksuit bottoms and runners, he hopped on the back of the bike and looked left and right nervously as the bike rode off in the direction of Dublin.
Mr Griffin will be required to provide gardai with a home address within a week as a result of being on the Sex Offenders Register.
He is expected to stay in Dublin where he has several former homes in the north inner city area.
It has also been reported that Griffin will have access to hundreds of thousands of euro thanks to a major property portfolio which includes houses abroad.
There are fears that the former gang leader will become embroiled in the feud between the Hutch and Kinahan families, which has so far claimed 18 lives.
Over the course of three trials in 2006 and 2007, Griffin’s victim gave crucial evidence on the abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather from the age of eight to sixteen.
Griffin’s vile actions led to a bitter gangland feud that went on to claim five lives, as once-loyal members turned against the sex offender.
His home in Swords was sprayed with gunfire in 2005 and a grenade was thrown at the property in 2006.
Since the beginning of his prison tenure, Griffin has been mainly under a special protection regime.
However, in 2011, he was subjected to a savage assault in the recreational area of the Midlands Prison, which was not feud-related.
Last September, he lost his prison privileges after being caught with a contraband mobile phone behind bars.
