GARDAÍ ARE investigating the theft of about 30 firearms in an armed raid on the home of a gun dealer in the early hours of yesterday morning.
The licensed firearms dealer and his partner were ambushed by an armed gang after returning to their Co Tipperary home after a night's socialising.
The couple were tied up along with a 22-year-old woman and an elderly man before the gang raided a store holding the weapons.
The gang then drove off in the family car with some 30 guns. The haul included at least two handguns, along with a larger quantity of rifles and shotguns.
The gun dealer at the centre of the case is Tonnie Keevan, who is in his 50s and originally from Carrick-on-Suir.
Mr Keevan and his partner Rita were returning at 1.30am to their home in the Steward's house, on the same grounds as Cregg House on the Waterford road just outside Carrick-on-Suir, when the gang moved in.
The four masked men were waiting outside the gates of the estate. One was armed with a firearm, while another had a baton.
The men threatened the couple before bringing them into their house just inside the gates of the Cregg estate.
The gang then tied up Mr Keevan and his partner. They woke Mr Keevan's partner's daughter and tied her up.
A fourth man, believed to be a caretaker on the estate, was also tied up.
The gang then went to a building beside the Steward's house which Mr Keevan uses to store the weapons he sells. The building doubles as a gun shop.
The four-man gang took some 30 firearms and escaped. They left the area in the family car, a beige- or champagne-coloured Honda Civic saloon, registration 03 WX 5048.
The robbery represents the biggest theft of firearms in recent times. Garda sources described as "disastrous" the theft of such a large number of guns by a clearly well-organised gang.
It comes at a time when Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern is in the process of introducing laws to greatly tighten the licensing of handguns.
Official records from the Department of Justice show 1,263 registered firearms - including 27 handguns - have been stolen since 2003. Only 373 have been recovered.
Gardaí believe the gang behind yesterday's robbery had their targets under surveillance. They believe the gang also knew there would be a large quantity of weapons on the premises that would be relatively easy to access once they overpowered Mr Keevan.
The victims managed to free themselves at about 5am and raised the alarm. The four were not physically harmed, but were said to be very shaken following their ordeal.
Mr Keevan's sister-in-law Kathleen Keevan, said: "To see someone waiting for you when you come in . . . You'd be very shocked, wouldn't you?"
She said Mr Keevan repaired and sold guns. "I think he was very, very wary of who he would deal with. He would only deal with people he knew."
A Garda source said it was too early in the investigation to determine who was behind the robbery.
"We're just in the process of trying to piece together what exactly happened. All the people in the house have been interviewed. The family car was taken and we are appealing for anyone who may have seen that to contact us."
Gardaí at Carrick-on-Suir have set up an incident room and are asking anyone with information to contact them on 051-642040.