Four Arrested After Firearm Seizure

A total of four arrests have been made in Dublin after the discovery of a loaded firearm during an operation in the capital.

Gardai said they had arrested four people and seized a loaded firearm the operation, which took place on Saturday afternoon.

A Gardaí spokesman said the arrests were made after a planned operation by officers from the Special Detective Unit, based at Harcourt Court Square, who are investigating the activities of criminals in the West Dublin area.

A loaded Ingrams machine pistol was recovered during the search on the property.

Four people three men and a woman were arrested at the scene. Two of the men are in their 30s and one is in his 20s, and the woman is also in her 30s. They are detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against The State Act 1939, at Clondalkin, Shankill and Blackrock Garda stations.

Also today, it has emerged Gardai trying to identify the body of a man found in a wood four years ago may have made a breakthrough.

Efforts are under way to confirm the body is that of a missing German who matches the description of the remains found in Co Galway.

Clifden Supt Tony O'Donnell is hopeful a breakthrough has finally been achieved using DNA and dental records.

"We need to compare DNA and other data but there is a strong chance that the body is that of a German who has been missing. It may be some time yet before we can make a positive identification but we are hopeful" he said. The body, believed to be that of a man aged 35-50 years of age, was found on December 8, 2006, by a group of hunters in a heavily wooded area close to Lough Inagh in north Connemara.

(DW/GK)