Four men held after chance gun swoop
The quick thinking of a garda manning a routine checkpoint led to the seizure of three fully loaded guns and the arrest of four men.
The men, whom gardaí suspect to be members of the IRA, were stopped on the outskirts of Mitchelstown by a routine garda checkpoint for road offences last night.
One of the gardaí manning the checkpoint saw what he thought was a gun lying on the floor of the blue Ford.
He kept the men talking while his colleague called for back up.
A car patrolling the area and armed detectives were quickly on the scene and arrested the men at 9.20pm at Cahir Hill, Mitchelstown. The men did not resist.
Detectives recovered one hand gun from the floor of the car and two other hand guns concealed in the jackets of two of the occupants.
A senior Garda spokesman said today that the semi automatic pistols were loaded, each containing a minimum of six bullets.
Gardai also recovered a baseball bat from the car.
The four men were being detained today under Section 30 of the Offences Against The State Act at Garda stations at Fermoy, Midleton, Mallow and Mayfield.
"We believe the men are mainstream Republicans and not members of a dissident organisation," said a senior Garda source.
He confirmed that one of the men being detained was in his 40s and came from the Cork Harbour area. The other three men being held are in their mid 20s. Two have addresses in East Cork while the other is from Cork city.
The guns and ammunition will be taken to Garda Headquarters in Dublin for examination.
