UPDATE: Firearm seized as Limerick gardai arrest three men in organised crime probe

GARDAI have confirmed a firearm was recovered during searches in Bruff this Sunday afternoon.

The searches, involving local and armed gardai, were carried out during an operation targeting organised crime across the city and county.

A flat at Main Street Bruff was searched during the operation which is continuing.

Meanwhile, three men were arrested following a pursuit which ended in Dooradoyle at around 11.45am this Sunday.

According to eyewitnesses, the men were travelling at high speed in a UK-registered Audi car which was being followed by members of the armed Regional Support Unit along Dooradoyle Road and Ballinacurra Road.

It is understood the pursuit began in the Ballyclought/Ballysheedy area before ending up in the city.

The vehicle collided with another car near a roundabout before it was stopped by gardai at Fr Russell Road and the suspects arrested.

“The car was travelling like a rocket and I don’t know how there was wasn’t a serious accident with somebody being killed,” said one eyewitness.

BREAKING: Gardai have arrested three men following an operation targeting organised crime in Limerick city pic.twitter.com/eLwrjV4o4v

— David Hurley (@DHurleyLL) February 26, 2017

The Limerick Leader understands that at least one of the men who is in custody is a well-known gangland figure with a number of serious criminal convictions.

In a statement issued this Sunday evening, the Garda Press Office confirmed that a vehicle was seized during the course of the operation and is currently being technically examined.

The three men, who are aged in their 30s, are being questioned at Henry Street and Roxboro Road garda stations under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

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