Gardaí have begun a major hunt for four armed men who broke into a house in Balbriggan, Co Dublin, this morning and stole 14 guns.
The masked men forced their way into the house of a registered firearms dealer at Coney Hill at about 1.20 a.m. and held the three occupants hostage.
The victims were locked into a room during their ordeal, which lasted an hour and 45 minutes.
The robbers stole the firearms, jewellery, an amount of cash and a four-wheel drive vehicle.
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The alarm was raised some time later when one of the hostages managed to free themselves.
The scene of the crime has been sealed off pending an examination by a Garda technical team.
Gardaí are investigating the possibility that whether a gang may have been responsible.