ABOUT 7,000 samurai swords have been seized by gardaí in Dublin. The weapons were found during planned Garda searches of a number of premises in the north inner city area on Monday.
Two men were questioned at the Bridewell Garda station in relation to the seizure.
They have been released without charge and a file is being sent to the DPP.
The swords are of different lengths and specifications, gardaí said last night. Gardaí also seized a number of air rifles.
Samurai swords are a single-edged curved sword. They were legal and freely available in Ireland until September 1st of this year. They were outlawed under tough new laws combating knife crime. Those caught manufacturing, importing, selling or hiring the potentially deadly weapons could face up to seven years in prison.
The laws were intended to target cheap, easily obtained swords which were most likely to be used by criminals, the Government said when introducing them.
In a bid to cater for collectors, those made before 1954 or by traditional hand-made methods are exempt from the ban.
This week’s operation was carried out by members of the Crime Prevention Unit assisted by the District Detective Unit, Divisional Crime Task Force, and the Neighbourhood Policing Unit. Official figures have shown that 100 people were killed in knife attacks in the five years to 2007.
