Two men have been arrested in Londonderry as part of an ongoing investigation into the activities of the New IRA.
On Tuesday night, police in Derry recovered a firearm – an AK-47 variant – and a quantity of ammunition from a vehicle that was stopped at around 6.45pm.
A 56-year-old man was arrested at the scene under the Terrorism Act 2000, and taken to Musgrave Serious Crime Suite for questioning.
Further searches were conducted later in the evening, in Lone Moor Gardens and in Rossnagalliagh, and a second man, aged 59-years-old, was arrested under the Terrorism Act and taken to Musgrave Serious Crime Suite for questioning.
Both men arrested remain in custody.
During the search in Lone Moor Gardens, a group of approximately 50-60 people – some of whom were masked – gathered at the bottom of Southway.
Police officers and vehicles had fireworks, bottles and masonry, and other items thrown at them.
A number of police land rovers sustained damage, with wing mirrors being ripped off, thankfully no one was injured during incident
Derry City and Strabane Superintendent Willy Calderwood described the scenes of disorder as "disappointing and disheartening".
"Our officers were in the area last night for the purpose of keeping people safe.
That is our priority and, through the public safety operation, we have taken a weapon off the streets that could potentially be used to cause serious harm or, at the very worst, to kill.
"The attacks on our officers are incredibly disappointing and disheartening, and I want to pay tribute to my colleagues for what they endured. They demonstrated courage and professionalism and restraint in the face of this violence.
"We understand and appreciate that operations of this nature can be disruptive, and we always work to keep any disruption to a minimum but, what we have seized demonstrates they are, unfortunately, necessary.
“The seizure from last night is significant and cannot be under estimated.
“As the investigation continues, I want to reassure the community we will continue to work to keep people safe. That is of paramount importance. We remain grateful for the support of local communities and encourage anyone with information, or concerns, to contact us on 101."
by Gazmac_868855
13 comments
Bet no one reads that or gives a fuck gaz.
Someone has a hard on for Catholics
The IRA LARPing community is taking the piss with this sort of shite.
So much for IRA decommissioning
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56 and 59 years old. Jesus Christ, are they not a bit old to not have a hobby or something?
Wait till you hear about the hundreds more of them scattered around the entire Ireland
Jaysus oul Gaz can fairly upset ye’s 😂😂, saft huers. Back to the story, one less gun on the streets = success
An AK-47, could they not have some class at least
The DUP have caused more harm to this part of Ireland in ten years than any IRA splinter group.
Jesus, most people buy a wee sports car during a midlife crisis
Just came back from a trip to derry where i met some more pro-ira people who had some not so nice things to say about the british goverment and the people.
Read the headline and first thought was no way is its an actual AK-47.