Over 1,200 licensed guns stolen in five years

More than 1,200 licensed guns have fallen into the hands of criminals over the past five years, it was revealed tonight.

The stark figures emerged after detectives arrested a sixth teenager over the shooting dead of widower Aidan O’Kane in Dublin.

The 16-year-old was detained at Whitehall Garda station in the city’s northside while five others aged between 13 and 19 years remain in custody.

The killing has been branded a watershed that demands unprecedented action to stamp out Ireland’s surging gun culture.

But Justice Minister Dermot Ahern tonight insisted it was not just politicians and gardai who were responsible for taking weapons off the streets.

“The fact that young people were involved is extremely worrying, not just from a policing point of view, but from a societal point of view,” he said.

“We have to ask ourselves how do these young people get these guns.

“This is not just a question for politicians but all sectors of society and we must question ourselves as to what kind of society we want.”

Official records from Mr Ahern show 1,263 registered firearms – including 27 handguns – have been stolen since 2003.

Only 373 of these have been recovered and the minister admits it is impossible to say how many stolen handguns are used in crime, because weapons are not always found.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Sinn Féin’s justice spokesman who obtained the figures in a written Dáil question, said they underscored the need for a tightening up of gun laws.

“The murder of Aidan O’Kane must serve as an eye opener for the Government which sparks them into action,” he said.

“We need to face up to the fact that Irish society is facing a growing crisis particularly when we realise that young teenagers are carrying guns.”

Mr Ahern said he has been fighting almost on his own against the surging gun culture – whether licensed or unlicensed – over the past few months.

The minister revealed new figures from the Garda’s Operation Anvil against organised crime which show that 1,192 firearms have been seized since May 2005.

The long-running investigation has also seen 126 murder arrests.

“We are never going to totally eradicate crime that is the reality,” said Mr Ahern.

“What we have to do is give the resources to those whose job it is to tackle crime and prevent it happening.

“In fairness to the Gardaí, while there have been a number of high profile cases there are also a lot of very low profile cases and situations which do not come to court where they have stopped crime from happening.”

Mr O’Kane, a 50-year-old father of one, was chasing youths for throwing eggs at his home on Shelmalier Road, East Wall, when one pulled a handgun and fired a single fatal bullet into his stomach.

Detectives yesterday detained four male youths, aged 13, 15, 16 and 18, and a 19-year-old woman under section 30 of the Offences Against The State Act.

Last night, the periods of detention for the four youngest suspects were extended for a further 24 hours.

The killing is the 20th gun murder this year and came less than a month after rugby player Shane Geoghegan was gunned down in Limerick when gangland criminals mistook him for their intended target.