A MAN driving a waste disposal truck was arrested yesterday at the gates of Mountjoy Prison after handing a loaded gun to prison guards during a security check.
The 32-year-old driver stunned prison officers by producing a Walther semi-automatic pistol and 14 rounds of ammunition when asked if he was carrying any prohibited items into the prison.
The prison officers confiscated the weapon and alerted gardaí from the neighbouring Mountjoy station, who arrested the Romanian national.
“He arrived to pick up a skip from St Patrick’s institution inside Mountjoy Prison, and when asked if he had any prohibited items he handed over the gun,” said an Irish Prison Service spokesman.
The driver was carrying the pistol in a leather holster and had two magazines of ammunition.
“It is fair to say that everyone was gobsmacked when he produced the weapon,” said one source, who noted that the truck driver did not attempt to smuggle the gun into the prison.
The driver works for a sub-contractor employed by the waste company Greyhound Recycling to pick up skips in Dublin.
In a statement yesterday, Greyhound Recycling said it was co-operating with the Garda investigation.
“Occasionally we work with sub-contractors in Dublin . . . We will review our subcontracting arrangement following this incident,” a spokesman said.
It is believed the man driving the waste truck may have registered the gun in Romania before moving to Ireland.
Gardaí are also investigating whether the man was carrying the gun for his own personal protection following an incident in his home country.
A Garda spokesman confirmed yesterday a man in his early 30s in possession of a firearm had been arrested on the North Circular Road under Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act.
He was being held in custody last night.
The incident happened at about 10.25am yesterday when the driver arrived to pick up waste from St Patrick’s institution – a young offenders’ centre in the grounds of Mountjoy.
In a statement the Irish Prison Service said the gun and two magazines containing 14 rounds were found to be in possession of the driver during a routine search.
“The Garda were called and the driver was taken away for questioning. The truck was impounded for technical examination,” the statement added.