Gardaí question man over shotgun discovery in Blarney

Gardaí are continuing to question a man about the discovery of a sawn-off shotgun in a car in Co Cork after releasing without charge a woman arrested with him.

The pair, who are in their 30s and from the Mayfield area of Cork city, were arrested when gardaí stopped the car at Clogheenmilcon just outside Blarney at around 7.30pm on Friday.

The car was about to exit a slip road from Blarney back on to the main Cork-Mallow road to head back to Cork city when it was stopped by gardaí operating a checkpoint outside the tourist village.

The checkpoint was set up by gardaí from Gurranebraher and Anglesea Street as part of Operation Thor where gardaí are targeting travelling criminal gangs carrying out burglaries in rural areas.

Gardaí searched the car, which was being driven by the woman, and found the gun and ammunition. Both occupants were arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

The man was taken to Gurranebraher Garda Station for questioning and gardaí have extended his detention past the initial 24 hour period to allow detectives continue to question him on Sunday.

The woman was taken to Mayfield Garda Station where she was questioned until around 6pm. She was released without charge on Saturday night and gardaí will now prepare a file on her for the DPP.

The shotgun and ammunition were removed for forensic and ballistic examination as gardaí seek to establish whether the weapon was stolen and if it had been used in the commission of any offences.

The car was also removed to a secure area to allow garda technical experts to carry out a forensic examination for fingerprint and other DNA evidence as part of their investigation into the crime.

Gardaí are still trying to establish whether the pair were on their way to commit a robbery or other crime with the gun or whether they were transporting it to a secure location for use at a later date.