Gardaí are investigating the discovery of eight pipe bombs in a housing estate in Limerick city yesterday.
The bombs were found in a shed, on waste ground at the rear of a row of houses in Granville Park, on the south of the city.
Security sources said they believed the bombs were made by a subversive group for a criminal gang operating in the Ballinacurra Weston area – the stronghold of the McCarthy-Dundon criminal gang.
Gardaí found the explosive devices after obtaining a search warrant at the District Court. Detectives were acting on intelligence received from a criminal source.
“Like guns and ammunition – all the top criminals want pipe bombs, too. They are sometimes thrown in with drug consignments and other weaponry that they purchase,” said a Garda source. An Army bomb disposal team was deployed to deal with the devices. The pipe bombs were rendered safe in situ without the need for a controlled explosion. The scene was cordoned off and a number of properties had to be evacuated.
