A man who Gardaí say was a major gangland figure in north Dublin has been found hanged in his cell in Mountjoy jail.
34-year-old Anthony Spratt was found by two other prisoners just after midday.
He was rushed to the Mater Hospital but efforts to resuscitate him failed.
He was serving a one year sentence for road traffic offences and was due for release next month.
He is the second gangland criminal to die in prison in the past four months.
Anthony Spratt was well known to the Gardai.
He was serving two consecutive six month sentences in Mountjoy jail for road traffic offences.
At around 12.10pm, two other inmates found him hanging in his cell.
He was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead in the Mater Hospital at 12.40pm this afternoon.
He was due for release next month.
Anthony Spratt had a number of convictions and was believed to be the number two in a dangerous drug dealing gang based in Finglas.
The gang was also suspected of being involved in a number of ATM robberies and although Anthony Spratt was arrested and questioned about them he remained silent.
He was also suspected of being one of the two people who shot Willie O'Regan in his flat in Cabra in June 2003.
The other suspect, Declan Curran, died in prison four months ago. He was found dead in a cell at Clover Hill while on remand.
Spratt was also under investigation by the Fraud Squad and the Criminal Assets Bureau for his part in a €100,000 tax scam linked to the Provisional IRA.
