E-scooters and e-bikes seized by gardaí in Dublin

Gardaí have seized 75 e-scooters and e-bikes across Dublin during an operation that involved 74 searches across the Dublin Metropolitan Region today.

During the searches they also seized seven Surron bikes, four scramblers, and three quad vehicles.

Gardaí also uncovered a sawn-off shotgun with ammunition, as well as €8,000 in cash and over €100,000 worth of suspected drugs.

Five people have been arrested, with one man in his 20s being detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act in connection with the firearms seizure. A second man was arrested on foot of a bench warrant, and three other men are currently detained for drug-related offences.

Billed as a "high-intensity policing operation", today saw gardaí target the use of electric motorbikes, e-scooters and e-bikes for criminal activity, including drug distribution, money laundering, transporting firearms, Drug Related Intimidation (DRI) and other serious offences.

Reports say more than 100 gardaí were involved in today's operation in west Dublin while another 200 took part in the city centre.

Hi-viz jackets and helmets are now mandatory under new e-scooter regulations that came into effect at the beginning of August. The new laws also extended the ban from under-16s to under-18s. From September, every e-scooter user in the Republic will require a licence and registration.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly last month told an Oireachtas committee that he agreed with calls for a ban on e-scooters, saying society would be “better off” without them. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was “leaning towards” introducing a total ban on the machines after a series of incidents involving young people resulted in deaths and serious injuries.