A handgun, rifles and shotguns are among around 30 firearms stolen today during a hostage robbery branded a major setback in the fight against crime.
Detectives believe a roving criminal gang or dissident republicans were behind the armed hold-up of a licensed gun dealer, his partner and her daughter in Co Tipperary.
The heist has sparked fresh calls for a clampdown on the availability of lethal weapons that can fall into the hands of gangsters.
Tommy Keevan and his partner were returning home to Clegg House, outside
Carrick-On-Suir, at around 1.30am this morning when they were confronted by four masked men.
One was armed with a sawn-off shotgun while another was wielding a baton.
The gang, all wearing balaclavas, forced the couple into their house where they were tied up along with the daughter, in her twenties, and a caretaker on the estate.
Up to 30 guns were then taken from a separate premises behind the house where
the firearms were stored, before the gang made off in the family car.
Mr Keevan managed to free himself at around 5am and alerted gardai. Detectives
were today going through an inventory to establish precisely what was stolen.
Investigating officers are also searching for the family car, a beige/champagne-coloured Honda Civic saloon with the registration 03-WX-5048.
No shots were fired during the incident and no-one was injured.
But gardai are viewing the heist as a serious setback in their efforts to stem the country's criminal gun culture.
"There's no doubt that 30 firearms falling into the hands of criminals is a very serious matter. This is being taken very seriously," said one Garda source.
"It is a setback after getting a few firearms back, like the gun recovered after the murder at Summerhill in north Dublin. "It's not good."
It is understood the raiders had no distinctive accents that would help detectives pinpoint any particular suspects at this stage.
"The leaning is towards criminal gangs or dissident republicans," a garda said.
"There are roving gangs in that area, there could be gangs coming from as far as Dublin, but it was also a nestbed of republicans for years, all around Clonmel and Nenagh."
Joe Costello, Labour TD, said the robbery underlined a need for tighter controls on the availability of guns.
"These guns may well be stolen to order and will probably end up in the hands of gangland criminals," he said.
"The criminal damage and violence that can be caused by that cache of weaponry
is incredible."
Fine Gael deputy John Deasy said the robbery demonstrated the "urgent need" for legislative clarification on the licensing of handguns.
"An argument has been made by a small group of handgun enthusiasts that legally held firearms do not end up in the hands of criminals and therefore the issue does not give cause for concern," he said.
"Yesterday's robbery and others like it prove, that legally held handguns are indeed being targeted by criminal gangs. It is also clear that existing security arrangements are not proving to be a deterrent to those intent on stealing them."
He warned against complacency, calling for legislation to impose "severe restrictions" on handgun ownership.