Three held after explosives find

A MAJOR investigation is under way after dissident republicans were caught with over 120kg of commercial explosives — enough, say gardaí, to “blow up a huge building.”

Concerned gardaí want to know how subversives were able to get their hands on legal explosives, mainly used for blasting rocks in quarries and in the construction of motorways.

“This would blow up a huge building if it was all used in one go. They are used for blasting rocks, so you can imagine the damage they could cause. It’s heavy duty,” said a garda source.

Three people, one a known republican, were arrested in Co Galway after gardaí recovered the explosives, as well as five firearms, in a planned operation. No detonators were found, but searches were ongoing last night.

Commenting at the Garda College in Templemore, Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said: “While it is early days yet, we will be watching very, very closely, the progress of the investigation.” He described the arrests and seizures as “very, very significant”.

Early yesterday morning gardaí, backed up by the armed Regional Support Unit, swooped on lands near Monivea, 20 miles from Galway city.

The explosives were found in an out-building. A search in a farmhouse recovered five firearms, four shotguns and a handgun.

A 48-year-old man was arrested at the scene.

In a follow-up operation, gardaí searched a house in Tuam, Co Galway. A handgun was recovered and two people, a male and a female, were arrested.