The driver of a waste disposal truck was arrested at the gates of St Patrick's Institution in Dublin this morning after admitting to security guards he was carrying a loaded gun.
The man (32) was attempting to collect a skip from the prison which is located in the Mountjoy complex on the North Circular Road.
When asked by a security guard at the gates if he possessed anything that posed a security risk, the man is understood to have showed the guard a loaded Walther semi-automatic pistol.
The gun was taken from the man, who is understood to be a Romanian national, by security guards who contacted gardaí from nearby Mountjoy Garda station.
A Garda spokeswoman confirmed a man had been arrested for possession of a firearm on the North Circular Road at about 10.20am, and that he was being questioned at Mountjoy Garda station.
Prison authorities stressed that at no time was the waste disposal truck, which has been impounded by the Garda for further examination, inside the jail complex. “The matter is now subject to a Garda investigation,” said a spokesman.
It is understood he was working for a firm sub-contracted by Greyhound Waste, which manages refuse for St Patrick’s Institution for young offenders in the prison complex.
In a statement, Greyhound confirmed the man arrested was at the prison to collect a skip on behalf of the waste company.
A spokesman said the firm was co-operating fully with the Garda investigation.
Additional reporting PA
