DRAGGED FROM THEIR BEDS IN HOTEL AT 4AM; Gardai march couple out in white forensic suits.

Byline: GARY ANDERSON 

ARMED gardai stormed a four-star hotel yesterday in the hunt for the killers of gangland's latest victim.

Up to 16 officers - believed to be members of the elite Emergency Response Unit - swarmed into the lobby at 4am.

They pulled a couple from their beds and 20 minutes later marched them from the Clarion Hotel in Dublin's International Financial Services Centre.

The man and woman were ordered to wear white forensic suits in a bid to preserve any potential evidence. Gardai were believed to be looking for suspects as part of their investigation into the brutal murder of dad-of-two David Lynch.

The dramatic operation was captured on the EUR200-a-night hotel's CCTV cameras.

A stunned witness said: "It was terrifying. They burst in armed with machine guns - there must have been 16 of them.

"They brought down this couple in white suits. The whole thing was over in about 20 minutes."

Sources said suspected hitman Lynch, 26, had a EUR30,000 bounty on his head after he became deeply involved in a vicious North Dublin feud.

Gardai were on high alert last night amid fears the turf war could turn into a bloodbath as Lynch's cronies seek to avenge their pal's death.

A source said: "Tensions are extremely high. The people involved all know each other and the fear is that there will be a shoot-out over this." Hard-man Lynch had been warned by gardai earlier this year that his life was in danger.

He was a marked man after he became the prime suspect in a near-fatal shooting in January.

The victim in that attack was lucky to live after he was blasted in the neck and chest.

Lynch was also held by gardai at the weekend after a man was set up and shot in the leg.

The Darndale attack happened after a man from Kilbarrack was lured to a meeting.

The victim was last night still being treated in hospital for his injuries. A dog-walker found

Lynch's body slumped against a wall on waste-ground less than half a mile from his home on Monday.

He had been blasted three times in the head at close range and gardai believe he was murdered at the scene - Belcamp Lane near the Hilton Hotel.

Lynch had survived a previous murder attempt in October 2006 when he lost a kidney after being shot at The Towers pub in Ballymun.

Gardai believe a north inner-city gang - not linked to the current feud - was behind that shooting.

Lynch's devastated parents said they were too distraught to talk yesterday. His father Gerry is believed to be gravely ill.

Lynch, from Ferrycarrig, Coolock, North Dublin, had a son of seven and daughter of two.

CAPTION(S):

SEALED Tent protects scene of murder CRIME SCENE Gardai at Belcamp Lane, Dublin, where the body of David Lynch was found SEALED Tent protects scene of murder