A loaded gun discovered by a man out cutting grass could have been the murder weapon used to kill Limerick businessman Roy Collins more than three years ago.
The pistol was found on the south side of Limerick city near the railway tracks in Rosbrien, close to where the getaway car used by Mr Collins’s killers was found on April 9th, 2009.
A man cutting grass on behalf of a local rugby club made the discovery at about 11am last Saturday, while he was cutting back some overgrown grass and briers.
The gun “came out with the lawnmower”. Described as being badly rusted, it was similar to a Glock, according to a Garda source. There was a number of bullets in the magazine but it was not clear if the gun was ready to fire.
Gardaí at Roxboro station were immediately notified and took possession of the weapon, which was sent to the ballistics section at Garda headquarters in Dublin for examination. Gardaí have confirmed they are investigating whether the gun has any connection to a number of murders in Limerick, including the murder of Mr Collins, who was shot dead at his family’s arcade in Roxboro shopping centre.
The murder weapon, which gardaí believe was a Glock pistol, was not recovered.
James Dillon (26) is serving life for the murder.