Gardaí investigating the activities of dissident republicans have arrested four men during a series of raids in Dublin.
The men, who are suspected members of the Real IRA, were arrested by the Garda’s special detective unit early on Wednesday morning at a number of properties in the city. Two of the men are understood to be in their 20s and two in their early 40s. All are well known to gardaí for involvement in dissident-republican activity for more than a decade.
The men are being held under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act at Finglas and Clondalkin Garda stations. They can be detained for up to three days.
“The men arrested this morning have been under surveillance for a period of time. They have been targets of the special detective unit, and the PSNI want to question the men in relation to attacks on PSNI officers in the North,” a Garda source said.
Two of the suspects are currently before the courts in relation to separate matters. One of the men is thought to be a senior member of the “New IRA”.