Probe after pipe bomb explodes next to shop

GARDAI are investigating after a pipe bomb exploded next to a shop in the early hours of yesterday.

The incident happened at around 12.30am in the Moneymore area of Drogheda, Co Louth.

The explosion, caused by what was classified as a “crude device that functioned”, damaged the shop as well as the front window of a house.

There were no injuries reported but residents from nearby properties were evacuated until the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team declared the area safe at 6.30am.

A Garda spokesman said: “A full technical examination of the scene was carried out by the Louth Divisional Scenes of Crime Unit immediately after the device and the area were declared safe.”

In a separate incident, a man and woman were arrested and a firearm seized as part of a probe into suspected dissident activity in Drogheda.

The woman, aged in her 30s, was driving a vehicle and found to be in possession of a large amount of prescription tablets.

A follow-up search was carried out at a property in Boyle O’reilly Terrace where a machine pistol and ammunition were found in a parked car.

A man in his late 40s was arrested in Dundalk in connection with the incident. A Garda spokesperson said: “The firearm is currently subject to a technical examination.”