THREE PEOPLE were being detained at Garda stations in east Co Cork yesterday after a sawn-off shotgun and ammunition were recovered following a Garda operation at Garryoutragh in Mogeely.
Gardaí believe the operation may have foiled an attempted aggravated burglary.
The arrests were made after a car was stopped and searched at a Garda checkpoint in Mogeely at 10pm on Thursday.
A sawn-off shotgun, cartridges, ties and two balaclavas were recovered during a search of the car.
A man and a woman were yesterday being held at Midleton Garda station, while another man was in Garda custody in Fermoy.
They were being detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.
Two of those arrested are from Gurranebraher in Cork city, while the third is from the southside suburb of Ballincollig. All three are in their 20s, and can be held for up to 48 hours.
It emerged yesterday that a three-year-old boy and a baby girl were in the car at the time of the arrest. Relatives of the children were caring for them yesterday.
The car was forensically examined yesterday, while ballistic experts were due to assess the weapon.
The make of the car was not disclosed by gardaí yesterday.
The Garda checkpoint responsible for the arrests was manned by officers working under Operation Anvil. Operation Anvil targets organised crime gangs across the country.
Earlier this year Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy insisted that, despite speculation to the contrary, Operation Anvil would not be wound down.
He said over €20 million had been set aside for the operation to date, and there was no question of its intelligence-led operations being cut back.
The commissioner said Operation Anvil was responsible for the seizure of more than 570 guns, 5,000 arrests and the recovery of €13 million worth of property in the last two years.