Two seized in operation against Real IRA

ONE of two men arrested yesterday in an operation against suspected members of the Real IRA served a long prison service for his involvement in an armed robbery that led to a businessman being shot.

The two are being questioned after armed detectives stopped a car near Limerick.

A powerful rifle and ammunition are said to have been found in the car.

The arrests were made as part of ongoing operations against dissident republicans in Limerick over the last two years.

Garda sources in the city are said to be delighted with operations that have led to arrests of several members of both the Real and Continuity IRA, a group that boasts having a strong base in Limerick.

The men, aged 33 and 35, were being questioned last night under Section 30 of the Offences of the State and can be held for up to 72 hours.

The Fiat Punto was stopped as it was being driven along the main Limerick-to-Tipperary road near Boher on Thursday night.

They were heading towards Tipperary. It followed a surveillance operation by detectives One of the men is from Garryowen, while the other is from Rosbrien.

One of the men was convicted and served a lengthy sentence for his part in the armed robbery of a Limerick shop in the 1980s. A businessmen was wounded during the incident.

Gardaí described the weapon as rifle-type, while one source said it was a sub-machine gun.

The weapon and ammunition have been sent to Garda Headquarters in Dublin to be examined by ballistics experts, while the car will also be forensically examined.

Supt Willie Keane of Henry Street Station described the arrests as a “very positive” development.

Another garda source said detectives were delighted with operations against the Real IRA and Continuity IRA.

“They certainly know we are out there And we are not going to stop investigations against them,” said a garda.

The arrests were made ahead of the trial of two suspected members of the Real IRA. It is scheduled to start next Tuesday in Dublin’s Special Criminal Court.

They are alleged to have been caught in possession of an AK-47 rifle, ammunition and Semtex in a house in the Garryowen area of Limerick last November.

Around the same time, four alleged members of the dissident group were arrested in Co Monaghan.

A chief superintendent told a Special Criminal Court that he believed the four, all from the North, were about to commit serious crimes.

They have been charged with membership and are among a number of alleged members charged in connection with alleged Real IRA activities.