Gardaí have discovered a possible gun and pipe bomb-manufacturing facility being run by a man at his parents’ home in Cork.
Detectives are investigating whether the man was manufacturing viable firearms from decommissioned weapons at a workshop at the house in the Douglas area of the city.
The discovery came to light after gardaí stopped a car in Mallow, Co Cork, at around 10.45pm on Tuesday. During a search of the car they found three pistols and a quantity of ammunition.
The 45-year-old man, who is living with his parents, was arrested for firearms offences and taken to Mallow Garda station for questioning.
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He was detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act which allows gardaí to detain suspects for a maximum of 48 hours before they must be charged or released.
In a follow-up search of the house, gardaí found up to 100 parts of decommissioned guns including pistols, revolvers and rifles.
They also found some homemade pipe bombs and requested the service of the Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit, who were working to make the devices safe on Wednesday.
Gardaí also requested the assistance of the Garda Ballistics Unit, who travelled to Cork to examine various weapons to see if any were viable and capable of firing live ammunition.
Detectives have not disclosed information about the investigation but one line of inquiry was whether the man was supplying guns to a feuding faction in north Cork.
Earlier this year, gardaí seized a number of firearms during a major search operation in Charleville, Co Cork, as part of an investigation into a feud between rival families from Cork and Limerick.
It is understood the man, a gun enthusiast who has three legally held firearms, was previously investigated by gardaí 10 years ago over importing decommissioned guns.
Officers confiscated two decommissioned pistols he had imported from Germany in 2015. He avoided a criminal conviction and was instead given a caution.
