Two arrested after bomb found in car on M50

SECURITY authorities have expressed concern at growing links between dissident republicans and violent drug gangs in Dublin after a bomb was discovered in a car on the M50 motorway on Thursday night.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell yesterday rejected suggestions that gang feuds in the city were spiralling out of control but conceded that the bomb find represented a serious development.

Gardaí believe the car bomb was assembled by members of the Continuity IRA for use in an attack on a drug dealer based in Ballymun.

It is the second pipe bomb discovery in recent weeks, which has raised fears that paramilitary groups and drug gangs are now acting in tandem as a result of escalating tension between rival criminals in the capital. Last month, gardaí discovered another bomb after stopping a car on the M1 motorway near Cloghran, Co Dublin.

Yesterday, Mr McDowell said any republican who had any role in providing the bomb was “spitting on the word ‘republic’.” He claimed the find provided proof that` out a controlled explosion on the device after finding out that it was fitted with a timing device which appeared primed for detonation.

The 24-year-old driver of the vehicle was arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and brought to Clondalkin Garda Station for questioning.

Another male, aged 56, who has a strong republican background, was later arrested in Ronanstown as part of a series of follow-up searches. Both men were still being held in custody last night. The two men can be detained for 24 hours with a possible extension of two further 24-hour periods under the legislation.

The security alert led to gardaí closing off access to the M50 near the Westlink toll bridge for several hours as a cordon was placed around the toll both plaza.

Garda sources indicated that Dublin gang leaders have increasingly been seeking to establish contact with members of dissident republican groups because of their expertise in explosive devices.

Fine Gael Justice spokesman Jim O’Keeffe said the collusion between dissident republicans and criminal gangs represented “the most serious gangland menace for years.”