Drugs, cash and fake guns seized in Cork raids

DRUGS, cash and imitation firearms were seized during a Garda crackdown on dissident and criminal activity in Cork.

Detectives also seized documents and other materials which will be subject to further investigation.

More than 60 detectives targeted up to 20 locations, including private homes and business premises, mostly on the northside of the city.

The detectives seized a substantial amount of cash, a small quantity of drugs, documents and other “materials of interest”.

They also seized what are believed to be imitation firearms, which will be sent to the Garda ballistics section for examination.

There were no arrests and the operation is ongoing.

The searches, coordinated from Anglesea Street Garda headquarters, are part of an ongoing investigation into dissident and criminal activity.

The raids came days after claims by a group purporting to represent the Real IRA that it shot drug dealer Gerard Staunton.

Mr Staunton was gunned down in front of his partner and her two children outside his home in Wilton just before 8pm on January 20.

In a leaflet distributed around the city at the weekend, the 32 County Sovereignty Movement said it was contacted by the Real IRA, which said it hoped its “actions will help many parents sleep better at night”. It also warned that the Real IRA has drafted a list of drug dealers “marked for execution” and will target them “at will”.

Detectives are treating the claims with scepticism.

The A4-sized colour leaflet, pictured above, featured a photograph of three balaclava-clad men near a wooded area, wielding what appear to be assault rifles.