Gardaí seize a Russian handgun in crackdown on Kinahan-Hutch feud
GARDAÍ in Dublin have made their second firearms seizure this week, a Russian-made handgun. It was found during a search of a house in the capital as they seek to contain the Kinahan-Hutch gangland feud.
The seizure happened in Botanic Avenue in the north of the city on Friday evening as part of an investigation targeting serious criminal activity in the Dublin region.
Earlier in the week a submachine gun was seized.
According to sources the latest haul is linked to the criminal feud in the north city centre.
A source said yesterday: ‘Gardaí were searching for two suspects and the gun was found during the course of that search. One of the suspects is connected to the Kinahans and one theory is that the gun was to be used on a member of the Hutch gang.
‘It’s a Russian-made gun and senior gardaí believe they foiled a future hit. In the past week there have been two guns and €2m worth of drugs seized.’
The source added: ‘Gardaí believe they have foiled 10 to 12 hits.’
Earlier this week a man in his 30s was charged by gardaí following the seizure of a submachine gun, drugs, bullets, mixing agents and mixing paraphernalia from a house in Castleknock in west Dublin.
A man in his 30s was arrested and is being questioned under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act at Blanchardstown Garda station.
The operation was intelligence-based and involved the Drugs and Crime Bureau, including the new Serious Crime Task Force, established earlier in the year in response to increased tensions in Dublin gangland and a fresh round of gun feuding.