Teenager to face court over weapons find in search

A Dublin teenager is to appear before Dublin District Court this morning in relation to the discovery of a firearm and ammunition by gardaí investigating a double shooting in the city yesterday morning.

The seizure was one of three weapons and ammunition finds by gardaí­ in the city since Sunday night.

The 18-year-old was arrested during a search of a house in the Barry estate in Finglas at around 5pm on Monday.

Gardaí found a sawn-off .22 rifle, 25 rounds of .22 ammunition and five shotgun cartridges in the house.

The search of the property was one of eight in the Finglas area carried out late on Monday and yesterday as part of Operation Anvil, which targets serious armed crime in Dublin.

Garda sources said that while the searches were linked to the investigation of a double shooting in Finglaswood Road, Finglas, at 7.20am on Monday, the weapon found was not the weapon used in the attack and the man being held last night was not a suspect in the case.

A 20-year-old man was wounded in the groin and his 26-year-old partner was wounded in the leg after a gunman kicked in the door of their flat on Finglaswood Road and fired two blasts from a shotgun.

Both survived the attack and underwent surgery on Monday. The woman's eight-year daughter was asleep in the flat when the attack took place.

The shooting is believed to be linked to the drugs trade

In a separate search operation on Kilshane Road, Finglas, on Sunday night, a man in his early 20s was arrested after gardaí found a sawn-off .22 rifle in the property.

The search was part of Operation Anvil.

The man, who is linked to a Finglas crime gang, was taken to Cabra Garda station and was questioned under Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act.

He has since been released and a file is being prepared for the DPP.

In a third Garda search under Operation Anvil yesterday afternoon, gardaí found three boxes of .38 ammunition in the Fortlawn estate of Blanchardstown.

There were no arrests, but gardaí­ in Blanchardstown were last night seeking a man known to them in relation to the ammunition seizure.