A shotgun, classified as a pump-action type, has unexpectedly returned to the possession of highly structured criminals. Originally confiscated by the Garda, it should have been held securely as physical proof but was instead found once again in criminal control, during a unique operation established to counteract warring crime syndicates.
It was only during its second seizure that the Garda officers recognised it as the exact same pump-action shotgun discovered in earlier investigations. Subsequently, a criminal probe has been initialised to comprehend how this firearm was recirculated among the wrongdoers.
Responding to inquiries, the Garda Headquarters verified the firearm’s second confiscation within the last year as part of an attempt to manage a conflict between two criminal factions. “A couple of days after, the firearm examination led the leading investigating official to notice that one of the arms, the pump-action shotgun to be precise, had already been previously seized by the Garda in 2009. Documentation indicated it was meant to still be held by the eastern Garda”, it stated.
A criminal probe was in progress, focusing on the methodology through which the firearm escaped the Garda’s stewardship and ended up with individuals speculated to be linked with feuding. There’d been noticeable public discourse recently, particularly about the “suitable supervision and documenting” of proof in Garda custody, the Garda response indicated.
This incident spurred Mr Harris to submit a report on the situation to Ms McEntee and the Policing Authority as stipulated in Section 41 of the Garda Síochána Act. Under this provision, the current commissioner is required to disclose significant developments that may negatively impact public trust in Garda.
This is the second report under Section 41 submitted by Mr Harris to Ms McEntee and the authority in recent times, following the disappearance of items from the Garda’s property and evidence management system (PEMS). He also issued a report on the suspension and ongoing investigation of a Garda member who removed a bike from PEMS without obtaining prior approval and subsequently handed it to a local individual in the midlands.
As understood by The Irish Times, a pump-action shotgun that’s recently under debate was initially in legal possession of a firearms dealer. However, in 2004, it was nicked during a break-in. Around five years forward, the Garda, during an operation towards suspected organised crime individuals in the Leinster area, confiscated it.
Following the confiscation, the weapon was subjected to ballistic examination and thereby safeguarded within the Garda’s PEMS system. This system is utilised to securely retain any evidence and property seized by the Garda, ranging from money, firearms and narcotics acquired from organised crime syndicates, to stolen or unclaimed belongings.
Considering the still ongoing investigations into its theft in 2004, and the later seizure in 2009, the firearm should have been securely retained within the Garda’s evidence repositories. Regrettably, less than a year ago, it was yet again confiscated amidst an operation against distinct criminal groups who had ostensibly obtained it.
The 2009 gun confiscation and the recent one are unrelated events, implicating two separate groups of suspects located in differing regions of the country.