Three held in operation against dissident republicans

Two men and a woman were being questioned by gardaí tonight over a suspected gun running plot.

The trio were detained in Dundalk, Co Louth after a raid involving officers from the elite Emergency Response Unit at around 1.30pm.

One gun and a quantity of ammunition was recovered.

It is understood the swoop was part of attempts to foil a possible gun running racket involving dissident republicans and followed the arrest of three men and a woman on Thursday night.

In that operation detectives stopped and searched a car a few miles from Dundalk and recovered a gun, ammunition and cash.

The three arrested in the latest raid are all being detained at Dundalk garda station.

They are being questioned under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

A garda spokesman said the arrests were part of ongoing investigations into the activities of dissident terrorist groups.

The planned operation involved members of the Garda National Surveillance Unit, the Emergency Response Unit and gardai stationed in Dundalk.