Russian gun dealing investigated by gardaí

GARDAÍ were yesterday trying to piece together the scale of a firearms-dealing operation run by Russians.

Detectives were investigating if this was the gang’s first attempt to sell arms or whether it was a long-running operation.

They are anxious to gather any information they can about people they sold weapons to and where they sourced the firearms themselves.

Senior officers are concerned at the online firearms dealing operation — thought to be the first of its kind in the country — and the spread of firearms within foreign gangs.

Gardaí have noted the growth in criminal activity, much of it driven by organised gangs, within the Russian community and people from the new members states, including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Romania.

The deadly scam was uncovered after a Russian national saw a Russian language advert in a Dublin newspaper regarding the sale of firearms.

The person informed garda at Store Street Station.

As part of Operation Anvil, the North Central Divisional Crime Task Force, based in the station, discovered a similar advert on the internet.

Gardaí traced the suspects to a house in Swords, north county Dublin, which they raided last Saturday.

They found four semi-automatic Glock pistols and 80 rounds of ammunition. Four Russian nationals, all aged in their 20s, were arrested.