Detective Superintendent Tony Howard of the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau at Dublin Castle this afternoon.

Detective Superintendent Tony Howard of the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau at Dublin Castle this afternoon.

SPECIALIST GARDAÍ DISRUPTED “an imminent attack” in the capital today after they seized a substantial amount of guns and ammunition in west Dublin.

At least one assault rifle, one sub machine gun, several handguns and a number of semi-automatic pistols were uncovered when officers raided a warehouse in the Greenogue business park in Rathcoole.

Detective Superintendent Tony Howard of the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) praised the work of officers and said today’s seizure was “testament to all the work done behind the scenes”.

Addressing the media, Howard said that many of the guns which were seized were loaded at the time and that officers had stopped an “imminent attack” from occurring. He said that “without a doubt, lives were saved”.

Arrests

Three men were arrested in relation to the seizure. One man was detained at the scene and two other men were arrested nearby. They are all Irish and are aged in their 40s and 50s.

Howard would not confirm that the guns belonged to the Kinahan cartel but said it is one avenue of investigation. In the past week, a number of high-ranking members of the Kinahan cartel have arrived back in Ireland. Two were spotted in an Italian restaurant while one was observed by gardaí on Dawson Street.

“There are very few groups which have ability to amass this amount of firearms, and not just the amount, this type of calibre also,” Howard added.

Officers are also investigating the link between this capture and confiscation €37.5 million worth of cannabis in Dublin Port late last week.

Detective Superintendent Howard said his officers had searched one of the units at the Greenogue facility as part of their investigation into organised crime.

He said his department, like many others within An Garda Síochána, is committed to stopping those carrying out what he described as the “ruthless killing” of people in the State.