Detectives feel they are outgunned by criminals

Garda detectives feel they are now outgunned by crime gangs who are importing automatic weapons from Eastern Europe.

That is the chilling message from a senior Garda Representative Association official who said “the balance has been tipped” against ordinary detectives since Garda management withdrew the Uzi submachine gun from service.

Ultan Sherlock, a member of the GRA’s central executive committee, said that while the Emergency Response Unit was heavily armed with Heckler and Koch-manufactured MP7s, ordinary detectives were now limited to using handguns.