Three arrested after gun thrown from speeding car in west Dublin

Three men have been arrested after a loaded firearm was thrown from a speeding car being pursued by gardaí in west Dublin.

Last night at around 8.30pm, gardaí came across a vehicle driving at speed through the Corduff area of the city and pursued the car.

A short time later it was found abandoned in the Wellview Grove area while the three men in the car fled on foot.

A number of searches were carried out and the suspects, two men in their late 20s and a man in his 30s, were arrested.

Members of the Armed Support Unit (ASU) were also called in and a loaded single barrel Berretta shotgun was discovered on the roadside.

The firearm, which gardaí believe was thrown from the speeding car, has been sent for analysis at the Ballistics Unit in Garda HQ.

The suspect car has also been seized for a technical examination.

Gardaí are continuing to quiz the three men at Blanchardstown Garda station for firearms offences.

They are being held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and can be detained for up to three days.

It’s understood two of the men are local criminals who are well known to gardaí.

One of them has served a jail sentence for an armed robbery and has a number of previous convictions.

The other man is considered a violent criminal who was previously investigated over the 2012 gang attack on Gerard Burnett (28) who was stabbed to death in west Dublin.

One man was later convicted of his manslaughter. The court heard that Andrew Gibney (28), of Dromheath Avenue, was one of five men who went to the victim’s house before he was stabbed 30 times.

A source said that gardaí are attempting to establish what the loaded firearm recovered last night was to be used for before gardaí intervened.

“The men in custody are known to local officers who are now examining the circumstances surrounding the gun being recovered.”

Online Editors