A pump-action shotgun seized by the Garda made its way back into the hands of serious organised criminals after going missing from what has been described as a poorly secured metal container on the grounds of Garda Headquarters.
The weapon was stored in a “skip-like container” secured with a combination lock and kept outside beside the old Garda hospital on the campus, one source said. The container was used to store large numbers of weapons seized by gardaí from criminals.
The apparently poor storage of the weapons by gardaí was raised in the Dáil this week by Labour TD Alan Kelly along with other allegations of alleged misconduct by gardaí in relation to firearms.
These include allegations that specialist gardaí used public funds to repair privately owned firearms belonging to a hunting club in 2018 and that gardaí imported restricted parts for the repair of those weapons.
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Last year, The Irish Times reported that a shotgun seized by the Garda in 2009 and kept in storage was later seized a second time after somehow going missing from Garda stores.
It was only when the gun was seized for the second time that gardaí realised it was the same pump-action shotgun previously found during searches.
A criminal investigation was launched under way into how the gun had found its way back into circulation in the criminal fraternity.
At the time, the Garda said the gun had been seized for the second time, in the previous 12 months “as part of an operation into a feud between two criminal gangs”.
It is now understood the weapon was being stored in an outdoor container protected with a small lock before going missing. The container was not secured with an alarm and the lock’s combination was widely known among personnel stationed at Garda headquarters, one source said.
“I am deeply concerned at emerging information about how lethal firearms and related materials have been handled within An Garda Síochána. Garda management was made aware of issues as far back as 2018 and 2019,” Mr Kelly said on Friday.
“I understand that a number of very serious protected disclosures were made on these issues, that eventually resulted in the transfer of responsibility for the firearms stores function to the Garda National Technical Bureau.”
He said it is still unclear exactly how the shotgun found its way back into the hands of criminals and called on Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan to provide a statement to the Dáil.
The Minister also needs to answer questions about whether he knew of allegations gardaí were importing weapons parts and repairing privately owned hunting weapons, the TD said.
“The information that is emerging about the handling of firearms raises serious questions for the Commissioner and the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan about how protected disclosures are handled within An Garda Síochána, and what information was provided to the Department of Justice and the Minister.”
Mr O’Callaghan said in reply to the TD that an investigation into the matters is still ongoing. He said the department was alerted to the allegations in August 2020.
In response to queries, a Garda spokesman said the force does not comment on internal investigations or matters that “may or may not have been referred” to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.
He said the Garda is also precluded by law from commenting on matters which are the subject of protected disclosures.
“An Garda Síochána takes its responsibility for the secure storage of firearms, official firearms and non-official firearms, including evidential material very seriously.”
