Alleged right-wing extremist sympathiser awaiting trial over plan to make guns using 3D printer

A man with right-wing extremist sympathies is awaiting trial in Ireland for allegedly planning to manufacture firearms using a 3D printer, Europol has said.

The suspect is not linked to any particular group and the details of his motivations and intentions are unknown but, according to a report from the international policing body, “it is clear that he sympathised with right-wing extremism and had an interest in previous atrocities committed by right-wing extremists”.

Details of the arrest are contained in Europol’s latest EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report which tracks terrorist activity across the bloc.

It reported that the man, who is not Irish, was arrested in Ireland in June of last year and is accused of importing “component parts with the intention of manufacturing firearms using a 3D printer”. He is in custody awaiting trial.

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Europol stated that right-wing extremists in Europe are increasingly focused on acquiring firearms and on engaging in “physical, tactical, survival, and weapons training”. They take part in training camps in remote rural areas where they attend lectures and courses on self-defence and weapons. These training camps are located in eastern European countries such as Ukraine and Russia, it said.

There were 14 terrorism-related arrests in Ireland last year. Seven of these related to dissident republican activities, four to Jihadi terrorist activities and one to right-wing extremism, the report states. There were no details on the other two arrests.

Four of the dissident republicans were associated with the Continuity IRA (CIRA) while the other three were associated with other republican groups, it said. Dissident republican groups in Ireland are amassing funds and influence through extortion which is done by imposing illegitimate “taxes” on victims, it said.

In Northern Ireland, the CIRA and the New IRA pose the main terrorist threat, with the New IRA being dominant, Europol said.

Failed attacks

Both of these groups rely on a support network in Northern Ireland and the State, it said. Police action and Covid-19 restrictions had a “suppressive effect” on Northern Irish terrorism last year, Europol said, adding that there were two failed attacks on national security targets last year.

The CIRA was suspected to be behind an attack on a police station in Enniskillen in March of last year with a homemade firearm. No one was injured. The following month the New IRA targeted an off-duty police officer with an explosive device which failed to detonate. It said that both republican and loyalist groups also continued to engage in violence and intimidation against their own communities.

The report noted increased tension within loyalist communities relating to a perception that their identity and culture are under threat. It pointed to riots in March and April of last year over the Northern Ireland protocol but noted that these have reduced significantly since.