The Garda investigation into 22-year-old Evan Fitzgerald over his alleged efforts to buy guns on the darknet started after an international law enforcement agency provided information to the force, it is understood.
That intelligence, which appears to have come through Interpol, suggested an unknown person in the Republic was on the darknet trying to buy guns.
Acting on the information, the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau established contact with the Irish suspect. It is understood that undercover gardaí made contact with the person, on the darknet, while posing as a criminal with guns for sale.
The Irish Times understands agreement was reached that weapons would be sold, with cash paid and the guns delivered by undercover officers in an investigative process known as “controlled delivery”.
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However, after delivery of the firearms – a machine gun and pistol, with ammunition – a Garda interception was made. The guns and bullets were seized and Fitzgerald was charged with four offences following the sting operation early last year.
A search of a property linked to him yielded an assortment of ammunition, as well as powders that can be used to make explosive devices. That discovery resulted in Fitzgerald being charged with nine further offences.
Fitzgerald, of Portrushen, Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, was facing 13 charges and was at liberty on bail when he went to the Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow town last Sunday week, firing several shots and taking his own life.
The gun he used, a stolen shotgun legally held by another person, was unrelated to the undercover operation that resulted in his arrest early last year. The guns used by the undercover gardaí in the 2024 sting operation were taken from Garda stores. They had been decommissioned and the ammunition was non-functioning.
When arrested in early 2024, Mr Fitzgerald made admissions. His first court appearance was told that there was no suspicion he wanted the guns to further any involvement in organised crime. Instead, he had acted in a “naive” way in trying to buy guns for recreational shooting.
Concerns have been raised by Labour TD Alan Kelly and Senator Michael McDowell, the former minister for justice, about the manner of Fitzgerald’s arrest and the charges against him. Both have questioned why an alternative, unspecified, legal option was not used to deal with him, rather than his being charged with possession of the guns and ammunition.
In reply to queries, Garda headquarters said it could not comment on a specific case. However, commenting in general terms, it said gardaí use “a range of internationally recognised investigative techniques when tackling serious crimes such as drug dealing and procuring of firearms, either of which could then be used to cause significant harm to the public.
“One of these is controlled deliveries. In controlled deliveries any material used is made safe by the law enforcement agency before being used, [for example], firearms are deactivated.”
On Wednesday, Mr Kelly and Mr McDowell raised the case in the Dáil and Seanad, asking about court reports that suggested gardaí had told the judge in the case that they were “investigating” how Fitzgerald and others acquired the guns.
“The guns were actually given to him by An Garda Síochána ... how could they say in court that they didn’t know where the guns came from?” asked Mr Kelly.
In the Seanad, Mr McDowell said: “I am also very deeply concerned that by informing the court that the gardaí were still investigating by whom the weapons in question were sold; the court was actively misled.”
