Guns seized and four arrested as part of Kinahan-Hutch feud

Gardaí have arrested four people and seized two loaded guns as part of the investigation into the Kinahan-Hutch feud.

The four people detained are aligned to the Kinahan faction. And gardaí believe the firearms were to be used tonight in a feud-related murder attempt.

One of the men had been arrested previously when gardaí seized guns they believed were to be used to target a Hutch family member.

However, because other people were found in possession of the firearms, the suspect was released on that occasion. Now the man has been re-arrested in an almost identical situation.

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The Garda operation on Friday occurred at 4.15pm when two cars were stopped by gardaí at Monastery Gate Avenue, Clondalkin.

Two loaded revolvers were found in one of the cars and three men - aged 26, 28 and 29 years - were arrested along with a 28-year-old woman.

Only one of the suspects was in the vehicle in which the firearms were found.

Two of those arrested are from the Cabra area of north Dublin while the other two suspects are from Dublin’s north inner city.

One of the men has graduated from petty crime to gangland offences in recent years and has a wide range of convictions including burglary, drugs offences and assaulting gardaí. He was formerly very close to some members of the Hutch family.

Previous convictions

Another one of the arrested men has previous convictions for drugs offences and has been caught with firearms in the past; both offences he served a prison sentence for.

And the third man in custody has over 100 convictions and is suspected of other Kinahan-Hutch feud related crimes.

All four suspects were being questioned under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act in Clondalkin Garda station on Friday.

Three of the suspects were released without charge on Friday night and one man was remained in custody on Saturday.

Friday’s operation was the third time in a fortnight gardaí have moved in and made arrests and seized firearms just before gardaí believe they were about to be used for gun attacks against the Hutch side of the feud.

Earlier on Friday, members of Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, working with Europol, raided a premises at Tullow Road, Carlow.

Cannabis herb with an estimated street value of €1.6 million along with €21,000 in cash was found. Two men - aged 38 and 39 years - were arrested. They were being questioned in Kilkenny Garda station.

Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, head of Special Crime Operations, said the drug seizure arose as a result of the Garda’s cooperation with international law enforcement, specifically with the Polish authorities.

He said the arrests and gun seizures in Dublin formed part of the Garda’s fight to combat crime groups who “kill or seriously injure” others.

"This activity is being tackled by members of An Garda Síochána in Special Crime Operations and other units, who are determined to protect life, seize firearms and arrest those involved," he said.

Herbal cannabis

Separately, police in Northern Ireland have seized what they believe could be one of largest ever hauls of herbal cannabis in the jurisdiction following a joint operation with authorities south of the border.

The cannabis was intercepted and five people arrested by PSNI officers on Friday under the banner of the Cross Border Joint Agency Task Force which involved co-operation with the Garda and customs officials in the Republic.A sixth arrest was made on Saturday.

“This huge haul of cannabis was found concealed inside an industrial-sized fuel tank on a shipping pallet at a property in Dromore, Co Down,” PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Martin said.

Three men and two women were detained at the same address while officers also carried out a number of follow up searches and enquiries at other locations.

The seizure and the associated searches and arrests “demonstrate the effectiveness of the real-time intelligence sharing and cross-border collaboration that takes place daily to tackle serious and organised criminality in both jurisdictions”, the Chief Constable said.

The potential estimated street value of the drugs is currently being assessed.

“With the assistance of our colleagues in An Garda Síochána and Revenue Commissioners we have undoubtedly prevented the significant harm that would have resulted from this huge consignment of drugs reaching the streets of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland today.”

Assistant Garda Commissioner Barry O’Brien commended all agencies involved in both jurisdictions and he said it demonstrated “the practical application of the Cross Border Joint Agency Task Force.”