Shotgun registered to gardaí used in local feud

A local retired detective inspector says he “wouldn’t jump to conclusions” in relation to a weapon reportedly used in a feud in Mullingar.

A criminal investigation is under way after a shotgun registered as being in garda custody was seized as part of an operation into a feud between two gangs in Mullingar.

The firearm was discovered after gardaí apprehended two men following a chase in Mullingar on August 9, 2023.

It was a pump-action shotgun that was originally stolen in a burglary in 2004 and was recovered by gardaí during a search of a premises in the east of the country in 2009.

It was still registered as being in the possession of gardaí in the east of the country when it was found in Mullingar last year.

A criminal investigation was launched into how the weapon left the control of An Garda Síochána.

A garda spokesperson said a “substantial number of enquiries have been completed” to date and “the investigation is in its latter stages”.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has also provided a report on the incident to Justice Minister Helen McEntee.

Retired detective inspector Pat Marry said he “wouldn’t jump to conclusions” about garda wrongdoings in relation to the weapon.

“We need to see what the investigation will bring first,” he told the Westmeath Examiner.

“If any guard was to take a weapon from storage and put it back into the hands of criminals, that would be absolute madness and they’d want their heads examined.”

“Sometimes a gun is returned to who it was stolen from and a garda may not have followed up on the administration end of that.

Mr Marry, who lives in Mullingar, said there are processes in place to ensure such incidents don’t happen.

“Weapons are held in strong rooms in garda stations and each one is labelled, numbered, and is comprehensively accounted for," he said.

“There’s only limited access to the strongroom too, like for detectives and that sort of rank.”

The former private investigator, now author, said he was once involved in a situation where a firearm went missing from custody.

“When firearms are destroyed, they are put into big barrels and shredded to pieces under supervision by the army,” he said.

“I had a recovered firearm that was sent in to be destroyed and, after an audit, Garda HQ said they never got the weapon – but they most certainly did.

“Several months passed and I got a call from ballistics saying they had located the gun, so it just goes to show that it can happen – but it doesn’t happen often.”

A new book by Mr Marry, co-written with Robin Shiller, was launched in Eason’s in Mullingar by Ireland editor for the Irish Independent Fionnan Sheahan on May 3.

It’s called ‘Murder at Lordship’ and follows the criminal investigation and court case into the death of Garda Adrian Donohoe in 2013.

The Garda statement in full:

In mid-2023, as part of an operation into a feud between two criminal gangs, a firearm was seized in the midlands and two males arrested and subsequently charged with firearm offences.

Two days later, following examination of the firearms, the Senior Investigating Officer found that one of the firearms – a pump-action shotgun – had previously been seized by Gardaí in the east of the country in 2009 and records showed that it was supposed to be still in possession of Gardaí in the east of the country.

This firearm had originally been stolen in a burglary in 2004 and was recovered by Gardaí during a search of a premises under warrant in the east of the country in 2009.

Within a week of the firearm being seized, a criminal investigation was instigated into how the firearm left the control of An Garda Síochána and came into the possession of the individuals charged with firearms offences.

A substantial number of enquiries have been completed to date and the investigation is in its latter stages.

There has been significant recent public comment, including by Commissioner Harris, on the critical importance of the proper control and recording of evidential material in An Garda Síochána’s possession.

Commissioner Harris has recently provided a report on this matter to the Minister for Justice under Section 41 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005.

Commissioner Harris has also provided a report to the Policing Authority.

Commissioner Harris will keep the Minister and the Policing Authority informed of matters as they arise.