Two held after car chase

TWO men who were arrested early yesterday morning after a car chase on the outskirts of Limerick city were detained and questioned under the Offences Against the State Act.

Gardaí confirmed that the car being used by the men — who were aged 20 and 23 — was stolen. A loaded weapon was found inside.

The arrests were made as part of a Garda operation put in place to target ongoing feuding in the city.

Local gardaí assisted by the Emergency Response Unit, carried out the arrests.

The chase started when gardaí in the city spotted a car, which they believed to have been stolen, shortly before 2am in the city. The driver of the car refused to stop when requested to do so and was subsequently stopped a short distance away on the Athlunkard Road in Corbally in Co Clare. Two men were arrested by the gardaí and a loaded Glock pistol was also recovered from the vehicle.

The men were yesterday detained at Henry Street and Mayorstone Garda Stations in Limerick, under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

The Emergency Response Unit was deployed in Limerick at the end of March in a bid to combat organised crime. The decision to send the ERU onto the streets was made by Garda commissioner Fachtna Murphy after a meeting in Roxboro Garda Station with Justice Minister Brian Lenihan and Defence Minister Willie O’Dea. The deployment came amid public disquiet over the law and order situation in Limerick, and the growing influence of local gangs and crime bosses.