Firearms offences soar in target area

John Breslin

Criminals in Blanchardstown and Finglas have accessed guns from various sources, including replica arms imported into Ireland after being ordered over the internet.

In a series of searches in Finglas in the last week, gardaí involved in Operation Crossover, which is targeting criminals in west and north Dublin, found the replica assault rifles, in the style of a AK47, MI6 and Heckler and Koch.

The guns are illegal and potentially lethal as they can be adapted to fire hard plastic and metal ball bearings.

Replica guns that can be adapted can be bought for less than 400 on the internet. The guns found during searches of houses in Finglas were posted from the US. A number of others were intercepted at the SDS centre on the Naas Road.

The guns are sold by licensed dealers in the United States and are meant for use for law enforcement training, theatrical or film production or by collectors for display.

In Blanchardstown last year, there were 79 offences recorded where a firearm was used, an increase of 21 on the previous year.

Operation Crossover was launched to clamp down on the criminal gangs in the area and the activities of two of them, both suspected of being involved in cash-in-transit robberies, have been severely hampered.