Up to 60 gardaí took part in early morning raids on several homes and business premises in Cork today as part of an operation targeting dissident republican and criminal activity.
A Garda spokesman confirmed the operation took place at locations in the city and in the north of the county.
A quantity of documents and other material were seized but there were no arrests, and the operation is ongoing, he said.
The operation, which is being co-ordinated from Anglesea Street Garda station, follows a claim by the Real IRA that they were responsible for the murder of a convicted drug dealer Gerard Stanton (41) last month.
Mr Stanton was shot twice in the chest and side from close range by a gunman as he was about to get into his car outside his home at Westlawn, off Sarsfield Road, on Cork’s southside.
A group claiming to be the 32 Sovereignty Movement sent a statement on behalf of the Real IRA to the Evening Echo newspaper in Cork, claiming it had shot Stanton.
“In our last statement, we warned drug dealers to cease their activities but despite several individuals stopping following lengthy interrogation by ourselves, there were those who chose to continue,” said the statement.
However, gardaí investigating the murder are keeping an open mind on the claim.