FIVE people are in custody after gardai uncovered an IRA bomb-making operation near Portlaw, Co Waterford, and disrupted a major arms supply route into Northern Ireland.
Gardai seized 100 lengths of Semtex-filled plastic tubing, which is a vital element of huge bombs like those detonated by the IRA in London and Manchester.
The Garda has also discovered what may be the source of the improvised detonation cord which helped the IRA to increase the explosive force of home-made explosive (HME) since the late 1980s.
The operation is the most successful by gardai since the discovery of another IRA bomb and mortar factory in an isolated farmhouse at Clonaslee, Co Laois, last June. Although far less material was discovered, the disruption to the IRA's operation could make the latest Garda find one of the most important in several years.
Four men and a woman are being questioned as a result of a series of garda operations in Westmeath, Waterford, Kilkenny and Tipperary. Another man was released last night.
The arrests began when two men, from the Multyfarnham area of Co Westmeath, were stopped in a car near Moyvalley, Co Kildare, at 6 p.m. on Monday. It is believed quantities of the detonation cord were found.
Shortly afterwards a series of garda raids took place in countryside around Portlaw, Co Waterford. Premises in Tipperary and Kilkenny were also raided and further explosive material found, resulting in the arrest of three men and a woman. One of the men and the woman were being held last night at Waterford Garda station and another man was being questioned in Clonmel. The third man was released without charge. The two men arrested in Moyvalley were taken to Dublin.
Gardai suspect that a Co Waterford man is one of the IRA's main bomb-makers and the figure behind the manufacture of the Semtex-filled detonation cord. He is believed to have devised a means of packing Semtex plastic explosive into plastic surgical tubing acquired from medical suppliers or stolen from hospitals.
The detonation cord is one of the most important components of the IRA's big bombs. The cord is packed into the bombs with homemade explosive made from sugar and ammonium nitrate fertiliser. Its presence creates a much greater explosive force from the relatively cheap mix.
One of the men arrested in Co Kildare is suspected of controlling a long-established arms supply route. He is regarded as being a senior IRA member and has close links with a prominent IRA family from east Tyrone.
This man was also said to be in control of a lucrative eel poaching and smuggling operation involving the Tyrone IRA family and a Protestant haulier from the Border area.
The arrests and seizures come after gardai detected a major increase in activity by IRA figures in the Republic since the new year. Much of the activity is understood to centre on the preparation of mortars and equipment used in bombs.
The increase in activity in the Republic has coincided with the rise in attacks on the security forces in Northern Ireland, which culminated in last week's killing of a British soldier in south Armagh.
It is understood that in last year's search at Clonaslee, gardai discovered new IRA equipment including parts for new versions of the improvised horizontal and shoulder-launched rockets which have been used in attacks in the North.
The finds show that although the IRA called off its attacks for 18 months, it continued to redesign and manufacture weapons throughout the period of the ceasefire.