Five men were arrested by gardaí over the weekend after firearms and drugs were found in separate operations in Dublin. Detectives also believe they have foiled a scam in which luxury cars were being stolen to order from homes in the south of the city.
On Friday night gardaí working under Operation Anvil arrested four men in Finglas and Blanchardstown after a firearm and drugs were found during planned searches.
Two of the men still being held last night were arrested in Finglas at about 10pm on Friday following the discovery of a sawn-off shotgun as it was being transported in a taxi in which they were the passengers.
Gardaí acting on intelligence stopped the car at a checkpoint and searched it. One of the men is a well-known armed robber in his 50s who has had addresses in Wexford and west Dublin. The other man is a criminal from Ballymun. The taxi driver was also arrested but was released without charge on Saturday night. A file is being prepared for the DPP.
In a separate operation on Friday evening in Mulhuddart, near Blanchardstown, a man was arrested after gardaí found cannabis with an estimated street value of €10,000. He is expected to appear before the courts as early as this morning.
On Saturday gardaí conducted searches in the Greenfort Lawns area of Ronanstown in west Dublin, recovering a sawn-off shotgun, stun gun, ammunition and a small quantity of cocaine. No arrests were made.
On Friday morning a brother of a major drug dealer from Ballyfermot was arrested in Lucan after the stolen Saab he was driving collided with another vehicle following a high-speed chase from Rathcoole, Co Dublin.
Gardaí believe the suspect is part of a criminal gang who have been stealing luxury cars to order in south Dublin. Houses are being broken into, car keys taken and vehicles driven away.
The Saab was taken in one such robbery in Rathcoole on Friday. Gardaí believe other attempted break-ins in the area were to steal car keys. A file is being prepared for the DPP.
New figures released by the Department of Justice have revealed the value of stolen property seized since Operation Anvil was established just under two years ago has reached €17.2 million.
The operation was set up in 2005 to target armed gangs in the Dublin area that were engaging in armed robbery and drug dealing. It has since been widened to cover the whole country.
The latest figures, for the period to March 27th, reveal that in the Dublin metropolitan area there have been 30,000 Garda searches under Operation Anvil with 643 firearms found and more than 54,500 checkpoints established.
Arrests under Operation Anvil in Dublin reached 6,250, 74 of which were related to murders. Of the 30,330 searches carried out, 26,497 were for drugs, 2,290 were related to thefts and 1,543 were linked to firearms. No figures were released relating to Operation Anvil in the regions.