'Young and naive' men bought guns on 'dark net' to shoot as hobby, court told

A garda told the court that one of the men 'has a fascination with firearms'

Daniel Quinn Burke, Evan Fitzgerald and Shane Kinsella at Naas District Court. Pictures: Niall Carson/Colin Keegan

Three “young and naive” childhood friends have appeared in court charged with possession of a handgun, an automatic rifle and over 40 rounds of ammunition that was allegedly purchased on “the dark net”.

Evan Fitzgerald, aged 21 of Portrushen, Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, Daniel Quinn Burke, aged 19 of Allendale Lawn, Baltinglass, Co Wicklow, and Shane Kinsella, aged 20, of Tynock, Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, appeared before Naas District Court on Monday.

The trio were all arrested and detained by gardaí on Saturday following an intelligence-led operation in relation to firearm trafficking, Detective Garda Gavin Curran told the court.

The car they were travelling in was stopped at Ponsonby Bridge near Straffan, Co Kildare. Gardaí discovered a semi-automatic M1911 pistol, an automatic Koch G3 Rifle and ammunition.

Detective Garda Curran said that the three men are not involved in organised crime and that it was believed that the guns would have been used to shoot in a wooded area as a “hobby”.

“Mr Fitzgerald has a fascination with firearms,” the garda told the court. “He’s big time into firearms and ammunition.” He said the guns were purchased on the “dark net”, with contact made via “proton email”, and that they were handed over in a face-to-face meeting.

Under questioning by gardaí, Detective Garda Curran said Mr Fitzgerald made “full and frank admissions related to the purchase of these firearms”. The court heard that €2,700 was paid for the guns.

The M1911 handgun seized during Saturday's search. Picture: Garda Info

He also said that the three of them “had knowledge of what they were going to collect”. The court heard that the trio were childhood friends who had “grown up together”.

Mr Justice Desmond Zaidan queried whether the guns involved are used “in warfare” and described the accused as “young and naive”. He said that if criminals had become aware of their possession of the guns, they could’ve fallen into “far more serious hands”.

The judge asked who was selling these guns but Detective Garda Curran said that the investigation remains ongoing and he didn’t want to compromise this probe.

Bail

Having originally objected to bail for the three men, gardaí acceded to bail under strict conditions.

Mr Fitzgerald, wearing a blue check shirt and chinos, “made no reply” when charged with possession of the guns and the rounds of ammunition, the court heard. He was granted bail on a surety of €1,000, but told he must not contact the other two accused, adhere to a curfew between midnight and 6am and avoid illegal activity online.

Detective Garda Ciara McNulty said that Mr Quinn Burke, wearing a white shirt and black trousers, when charged with the four offences, said that he acknowledged and accepted the charges.

Detective Garda Jeff Dowling said that Mr Kinsella, wearing a red hoody, made no reply when charged. The latter two also have to adhere to strict bail conditions, but the direction around using the internet was not applied to their conditions.

The three will appear again in court on June 6 for DPP directions.