Cache of suspected firearms found beside former Regency Hotel

A cache of suspected firearms has been found beside the former Regency Hotel in Whitehall, north Dublin.

It is understood some of the weapons are believed to be either airsoft or imitation weapons but that one appears to be a real firearm capable of firing live ammunition. The items were found in the undergrowth beside the hotel, which was renamed the Bonnington following a gangland shooting at a boxing event there in 2016.

Investigations are at an early stage but gardaí currently do not believe the weapons are linked to the 2016 attack. They appear to have been hidden in the undergrowth recently.

Ballistic analysis is ongoing to determine if all of the weapons are illegal firearms under the Firearms Acts. Under law, it is illegal to possess or sell an airsoft gun if it fires a projectile with more than one joule of energy.

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It is understood the weapons were located by a member of the public on Friday afternoon and gardaí were alerted.

“On Friday, December 10th, 2021, gardaí recovered a number of suspected firearms, discovered concealed in the undergrowth on a business premises in Dublin 9,” a Garda spokeswoman said.

“The suspected firearms are subject to analysis by the Garda Technical Bureau to confirm whether they are firearms as defined under the Firearms Acts.”

She added that investigations are ongoing.

On February 5th, 2016, criminals linked to the Hutch organised crime gang attacked a boxing event in the hotel in an attempt to murder Daniel Kinahan of the rival Kinahan organised crime gang. During a well-planned operation, gunmen dressed as members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit (ERU) shot to death Kinahan gang associate David Byrne and injured two others. Daniel Kinahan was unharmed.

The two gangs had already been involved in a feud but the shooting led to an upsurge in violence between members that saw a total of 18 murders in Dublin and elsewhere. The violence has since subsided following the arrest of many of the key players in the feud.