Gardai today displayed a selection of high-calibre weapons, along with heroin and cannabis, that were seized in an operation targeting gang crime.
A total of 27 weapons and drugs seized when gardaí stopped a car near Dublin airport on Tuesday were displayed for the media at Garda Headquarters at Phoenix Park.
The haul included four types of firearms. Among them were four Glock 19C semi-automatic pistols converted to fire fully automatically, along with accessories such as magazines and speed-loaders. These sub-machine guns are capable of firing up to 1,000 rounds of ammunition a minute, detectives said.
There were also 15 Glock 19 semi-automatic pistols, six Beretta 19 semi-automatic pistols with sound-suppressors, two Smith & Wesson model 60 revolvers and 50 rounds of ammunition.
All were “military and police-spec weapons”, detectives said. Gardaí could not indicate whether the guns were all new as they have not been ballistically tested. However, they said that all of them were “in very good condition and ready to be deployed”.
The weapons will all be sent for ballistics tests over the coming days.
Along with the guns, gardaí displayed more than a dozen shrink-wrapped blocks of heroin and about eight bags of herbal cannabis, alongside three holdall bags.
The investigation, codenamed Operation Bench, resulted in the seizure of heroin and cannabis valued at €4.2 million in a car near Dublin airport on Tuesday.
Twenty-seven weapons were found in the same vehicle and another 14 guns were recovered in Belfast by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Ammunition for the weapons, totalling about 1,000 rounds, was also found.
The firearms, believed to be destined for criminal gangs in Dublin and Limerick, were seized in an operation involving police and customs officers from the Republic, Northern Ireland and the Netherlands.