Gardaí were last night continuing to question two men arrested in Cork on Saturday afternoon after officers foiled what they believe was a planned assassination attempt by a Real IRA hit squad.
Gardaí foiled the suspected assassination attempt when two gardaí on patrol noticed a man acting suspiciously in a van parked in the Deanrock Estate in Togher on Cork’s southside and when they went to investigate, they found another man hiding in the back of the van.
The two men were dressed in boilersuits and when the two gardaí searched the men and the van, they found that they were armed with a semi-automatic pistol and a revolver both of which were loaded and ready for use.
Gardaí are understood to be keeping an open mind on the intended target.
One line of inquiry that they are following is whether the two gunman were planning to kill a known drug dealer living in the Togher area of Cork’s southside.
The two men can be held for an initial period of 48 hours which is due to expire around 4pm today but gardaí can obtain a further 24 hour extension before they will have to release or charge the two suspects.