News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Notorious drug smuggler Tommy 'The Zombie' Savage survived a botched assassination attempt after his car was riddled with 12 bullets.

The 66-year-old was sitting in his vehicle at Swords, Dublin, when it came under gunfire with a dozen bullets smashing through the windscreen.

The passenger window was shattered but the infamous criminal managed to escape without serious injury and is believed to have just a grazed wrist.

Dramatic pictures show the front passenger window and rear driver's side window of his car blown out after the vehicle was riddled with rounds.

But The Zombie's life was spared after the hitman failed to strike his target.

Police are now investigating if the attempted murder is linked to the bloody Hutch/Kinahan gang war.

(Image: Paddy Cummins/PCPhoto.ie)

A source told the Irish Mirror: “The Zombie has been throwing his weight around causing a lot of grief in the area.

“He has been a target for the Kinahans, who are locked in a feud with the Hutches that has claimed 10 lives in a year.

“But this looks to be too amateurish for a Kinahan shooter.

“The Zombie is not co-operating whatsoever with the gardai, even though someone tried to kill him tonight.”

The bungling hitman escaped the scene of the shooting at Rathbeale Crescent in a Black Audi.

The getaway car was later found burnt out near Dublin Airport.

Cops are probing if his links to a criminal pal of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch could have caused the assassination attempt.

Police believe Savage is had been an associate of George 'The Penguin' Mitchell in the past.

It is understood Mitchell and Hutch met in Amsterdam earlier this year as Gerry desperately tried to stay one step ahead of Kinahan gunmen, Dublin Live reports.

In 2006, The Zombie was sentenced by a Greek Court to five years in prison for drug smuggling.

In his lengthy history, the notorious criminal has also faced time for armed robbery as well as other drug-related crimes.

The bloody gang war has claimed the lives of 10 people since Gary Hutch was gunned down on Costa del Sol last year.

Another theory is that the attempted hit came after an internal dispute in the Irish National Liberation Army.