Analysis/The weapons: As part of their ongoing investigations into drug-related gangland shootings, gardaí in recent years have been confiscating increasingly large numbers of firearms from criminal elements. Tom Clonan reports.
Hundreds of weapons seized recently under Operation Anvil include sawn-off shotguns, single- or double-barrel shotguns and Remington and Winchester pump-action and semi-automatic shotguns.
Gardaí have also seized hundreds of high-powered revolvers, automatic pistols, machine pistols and even high-velocity assault rifles from criminal gangs. These weapons - many of which are of military specification and designed for use in combat operations - are being delivered into the hands of untrained young men.
Among the high-powered revolvers being smuggled into the country - often as "sweeteners" in drugs consignments - are Smith & Wesson or Colt .38 Specials along with .357 and .44 Magnums. These weapons typically arrive fully loaded, some with boxes of 50 bullets or "rounds" of ammunition.
The Magnums, with heavier bullets and a higher propellant load, are especially lethal and are described by both military and police as "man-stoppers". In other words, the striking power of one round fired from such a weapon is sufficient to instantly incapacitate or kill an adult up to a range of approximately 50 metres.
Gardaí are also encountering large numbers of semi-automatic and automatic handguns such as Browning, Smith & Wesson, Glock and Barrett and PT92 automatic pistols. These weapons are capable of firing between nine and 15 9mm rounds in less than two to three seconds.
The bullets fired from these weapons are almost twice the diameter and weight of those fired from standard military assault rifles - typically 5.56mm - and can easily penetrate doors, timber frames, double-glazed windows and the steel panels and glass of vehicles.
When fired in a flat trajectory in the open - say on a city street - such rounds have the potential to travel up to a kilometre while retaining their lethal potential.
Disturbingly, gardaí have also seized quite an arsenal of machine-pistols from those involved in the drug trade. These include Uzi, Ingram, Tech 9, Inter-Tech 10 and Heckler and Koch MP5 submachine guns. These are standard issue weapons to many special-forces units throughout Nato and pose a significant threat to lives.
Although such machine pistols and automatic handguns are among the most common high-performance weapons seized by gardaí of late, some high-velocity assault rifles have also been confiscated. These include AK-47 rifles of the type used by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. These are capable of penetrating lightly-armoured vehicles, flak jackets, helmets and even the walls of typical family homes and offices.
The injuries inflicted by such weapons are horrific as they are specifically designed to maim and kill human beings. The ammunition is especially configured to penetrate human tissue and to expend its kinetic energy by lacerating or "drilling" through organs and blood vessels and to discharge heat and shock waves to burn and rupture adjacent tissue and structures.
In trained hands such weapons are highly lethal. The concern is that in time, members of An Garda Síochána or innocent bystanders will fall victim.