Irish police believe that so-called Real IRA members are arming themselves for revenge on Alan Ryan's enemies.
Just six hours before Ryan's funeral a raid was staged on a registered gun shop.
According to the Herald, police have called the raid a 'major guns robbery' and it is feared that the cache of deadly weapons is already in Dublin.
'This is potentially very serious. There could well be a connection between this robbery and Ryan’s crew,' a source told the Herald.
Over two dozen high-velocity rifles and shotguns were taken during the robbery, which occurred in Ashford, County Wicklow.
Two of the stolen guns were quickly found in a stolen vehicle in the South Inner City, intensifying fears of a coming gang war.
'These weapons are very dangerous but it is particularly alarming given that we don't know whose hands the guns have fallen into,' a source reportedly said.
One suspect, a convicted criminal who was present at Ryan's funeral nine days ago, is currently being questioned. The man, who is reportedly in his thirties, is understood to have had significant knowledge of the shop where the guns were stolen and is suspected of passing on information to those who carried out the robbery.
'Some of the weapons are more advanced than others but the underlying thing is they can all kill,' a police spokesperson told the Herald.
Police raids at 30 different locations in Dublin, Meath, and Kildare have reportedly yielded a substantial haul of new intelligence, with evidence of connections between members of the group and other serious criminal offenses.
Fourteen of the seventeen suspects arrested in last week's raids were released without charge the following day, but Irish police have insisted that their inquiries are progressing well.
7 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.seamus60 | Sep 19, 2012, 06:59 PM EDT
Bock. the problem is theres more evidence on how many guns were recovered than there is on aledged drug dealing.
IrelandNorth | Sep 19, 2012, 07:35 AM EDT
Picture depicts camoflagued guard-of-honour/colour party/pallbearers rather than mourners per se. Security sources should cease-and-desist from publicly prognosticating in the press/media as to what they think is going to happen. It could have unintended actualising consequences. And .22 small game hunting rifles are hardly high velocity. Twenty-four rifles were reported stolen. Two were subsequently recovered by Gardaí.
Bocktherobber | Sep 18, 2012, 08:18 PM EDT
Two guns, 24 guns, it's irrelevant. This is a gang of drug dealers dressed up in military fatigues. That's it.
aloistmartin | Sep 18, 2012, 04:47 PM EDT
Ireland`s better off looking like a Torn, Tattered, and Bloody Tartan, or the World News Page, than a scene form Oliver !
pilib04 | Sep 18, 2012, 04:04 PM EDT
Still no recognition of the partnership between the Drug Cartel and the Fine Gael government. If it is not a partnership, why is no dramatic announcement of a investigation of those responsible for the Ryan assassination. The Drug cartel must wield enormous power over the FG government.
WoundedKnee | Sep 18, 2012, 02:51 PM EDT
Very poor copy editing. The headline says the cops found 24 weapons. That's not what the article says.
seamus60 | Sep 18, 2012, 09:29 AM EDT
So another headline rubbished with the police not actually finding 24 weapons. IC just can`t get to terms with the truth. We first have aledged real IRA men becoming real Ira men without a trial or anything looking like one and now 24 guns turn into 2 guns.