FREED killer Brian King Ratt Rattigan was in hiding last night as investigators believe hes set to flee the country shortly.
The Irish Sun understands the infamous gang boss who has spent the last 18 years in prison is still waiting on his passport before leaving Ireland due to the threat on his life.
Freed killer Brian King Ratt Rattigan
Brian Rattigan leaving Portlaoise Prison
He got into a car shortly after leaving the prison
We can also reveal Gardai established there were no flights booked in Rattigans name yesterday, meaning hes stuck here for the time being.
But investigators still believe the notorious psycho still plans on ­leaving Ireland due to the threats against him.
Although he informed gardai he would be returning to his native Drimnagh in south Dublin, its understood he was holed up at a secret location in the capital last night.
Gardai believe only a small number of his associates and close family members are aware of his location over fears he could be betrayed.
HIGH ALERT
Rattigan maintains that his war with Kinahan cartel killer Fat Freddie Thompson is over but gardai remain on high alert he could be targeted by other enemies he made over the years.
They include gangsters who were loyal to Thompson during the deadly Crumlin and Drimnagh feud.
One source told us: There was a suspicion he could be on the first plane out of the country but that hasnt happened yet.
He may have given gardai his permanent address but the reality is he could be anywhere.
Rattigan still has a few supporters who are loyal to him and theres no doubt he will still be trying to call the shots.
Hes been away a long time but there are still people out there who would want him dead because they could see him as a threat.
WALKED FREE
Earlier, Rattigan wore a hat, black face mask and dark sunglasses as he walked free from Portlaoise Prison yesterday morning after serving 18 years.
The thug was released at exactly 6.30am and was driven away from the maximum security jail in a ­waiting Go car, just like Derek Del Boy Hutch on Saturday.
The 41-year-old has been behind bars since 2003 and was originally caged for 13 years for shooting at gardai during a high-speed car chase.
He was later given an additional 17 years for continuing to run a ­multi-million euro drugs empire from his jail cell.
In January 2019 he received another nine-year sentence for the manslaughter of Declan Gavin in August, 2001.
STABBED
Gavin was stabbed to death outside an Abrakebabra restaurant in Crumlin, a killing which kick-started the long-running Crumlin-Drimnagh feud, which claimed the lives of 16 young men, including Rattigans 18-year-old brother Joseph.
The gangster, known as King Ratt, went on trial for the murder of Gavin twice, ultimately being found guilty but he won an appeal against that conviction.
In October 2018, he pleaded guilty to Gavins manslaughter and apologised to the victims family for the hurt caused in a letter read out in court.
And yesterday he finally tasted freedom for the first time in nearly two decades.
The rented black ­Nissan Go car arrived at the prison shortly before 6am, with a driver also having his face covered by a hat and black mask.
A prison officer emerged some time later and asked the driver to pull in closer to a large brown door at the high security prison.
The door opened at exactly 6.30am and the freed mobster walked out.
he was wearing a grey blazer, white shirt, a bucket hat, black mask and dark sunglasses to ensure his face couldnt be seen by our ­photographer.
A gold chain with a picture of a man hung around his neck, possibly a memento of his slain brother Joseph, who died in the months following Gavins stabbing.
Rattigan was clutching a brown bag with his personal belongings and got into the passenger seat of the car.
REFUSED QUESTIONS
He refused to answer any questions from the Irish Sun as he quickly got into the car before it departed.
The vehicle then sped away through the black security gates of the prison and turned left towards the M7 motorway.
It then drove towards Dublin, where Rattigan was expected to return to his local Drimnagh area.
Its not sure what his next move will be but it has been suggested that he might move to Spain once he settles back at his family home on Cooley Road.
A major garda plan has been put in place, just days after another high-profile gangster, Derek Del Boy Hutch walked free from Wheatfield Prison after serving a lengthy sentence for an armed raid in Lucan.
A source said: The Go car seems to be the new way to drive big name prisoners away from jail because they cant be traced.
Rattigan has slimmed down but he was making sure no one saw his face anyway.
“He says hes a changed man and never wants to return to jail again but well have to wait and see.
“The threat level against him is not as severe as the one against Derek Hutch because most of his allies and enemies are dead or in jail, the gang is totally dissolved and that feud died off years ago.
With Hutch its different because hes still a target of the Kinahan cartel and he might have his own scores to settle.
The gangland landscape has certainly shifted massively in the years that Rattigan has been behind bars but the gardai will still want to keep a close eye on him to see what he does next but hes served his time and is entitled to try and move on with his life.
ARMED PATROLS
Rattigan had indicated he plans to move back to his family home in Drimnagh, which means Crumlin gardaI will draw up a plan to deal with his release including an increase in armed patrols in the area.
His release comes just four days after another convicted killer, Derek Del Boy Hutch, 35, was released from Wheatfield Prison, Dublin, where he served a 16-year sentence for a variety of serious offences.
He is officially under severe threat from the Kinahan cartel, who murdered his brother Gary in 2015 and have also targeted his father Patsy.
He was jailed for six years for knifing innocent lad Barry Maguire to death on St Stephens Day 2007.
He was later caged for 16 years for an armed raid in Lucan, in which his friend Gareth Molloy was shot dead by gardai.
‘CHANGED MAN’
Brazen Rattigan said in a sworn affidavit to the High Court in 2019 that he was a changed man.
He said he wanted to lead a law-abiding life upon my release and am committed to never returning to prison.
In a sworn statement on behalf of his former arch-enemy Fat Freddie Thompson, Rattigan said there was no bad blood between him and his fellow inmate in Portlaoise Prison.
Rattigan said relations between the two were good, they have had long conversations in prison, and their families had met.
The two were housed in the same wing in the maximum security prison and posed no security threat to each other, the criminal also said.
Rattigans comments were contained in a statement sworn in support of Thompsons High Court challenge against the prison authorities over what he claims are the oppressive conditions of his detention for over 18 months in the A wing of the prison.
Thompson was jailed for life in August, 2018 for the murder of David Douglas two years previously.
Douglas was shot dead as part of Kinahan-Hutch feud outside his partners shoe shop in Dublin city centre in broad daylight.
Declan Gavin was killed
Brian Rattigan was later convicted of Declan Gavin’s manslaughter