Guns and samurai swords seized in Traveller feud raids

Shotguns and samurai swords were among deadly weapons seized today by detectives investigating a spiralling feud between Traveller families.

A 26-year-old man also became the latest person to be arrested in the long-running row centred in Tralee, Co Kerry, but which has spread throughout the county and further afield in recent months.

The Garda stopped a car on the Tralee to Castleisland road shortly after midnight this morning and found a shotgun.

A follow-up raid at a house in Mitchels Crescent in the town uncovered another shotgun, three petrol bombs, two samurai swords, a slash hook, a knife and two balaclavas.

The driver of the car was arrested and taken to Tralee Garda station where he is being questioned under section 30 of the Offences against the State Act.

The latest finds follow months of serious violence, riots, more than a dozen arrests and the unprecedented deployment of the armed Garda Regional Response Unit to Tralee in a deepening row, believed to be a power struggle between two Traveller families.

Last month, four people were arrested and a number of weapons seized after a group of up to 40 masked and armed Travellers descended on the homes of a rival faction.

The Garda said there have been other incidents linked to the feud in other parts of Kerry and Cork as well as an alleged assault on a UK motorway.