Five held in connection with 'pipe bomb factory' raid

Five men were arrested today after a suspected bomb making factory was raided.

A team from the Garda Special Detective Unit swooped on the apartment in Park West, west Dublin at dawn and detained the men, all aged in their twenties.

During the search equipment for making pipe bombs was recovered.

Gardaí said the Defence Forces Explosives Ordnance Division was called in and the area was later declared safe.

The men were being questioned under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and may be detained for up to 72 hours.

One of the men was being held at Blackrock Garda Station and the other two at Shankill.

The Garda Press Office said the raid was carried out as part of investigations into subversive activities.

The apartment has been preserved for forensic examination by crime scene examiners from the Garda Technical Bureau.