Woman released after bid to board flight with handguns

A WOMAN who was arrested after two handguns were found in her handbag as she was trying to board a flight to England has been…

A WOMAN who was arrested after two handguns were found in her handbag as she was trying to board a flight to England has been released by gardaí without charge.

A Garda investigation into the weapons find at Dublin airport on Tuesday evening is continuing and a file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions on the matter.

The 68-year-old grandmother from Finglas in Dublin was due to board a flight at 7pm to Birmingham, where she was to visit a relative.

However, when she walked through airport security, an X-ray scan of her handbag revealed the two handguns.

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One was a loaded Walther pistol and the second gun was more modern, but was not loaded with any bullets.

The woman was handed over by airport security to the Garda. She was arrested and taken for questioning to Ballymun Garda station under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

She was detained overnight at the station, but was released without charge yesterday.

Gardaí are trying to determine the origins of the weapons and to find out whether they were owned by the woman or by somebody else.

The guns have been sent for ballistics examination to Garda Headquarters at the Phoenix Park, Dublin, in an effort to determine whether they have been fired recently or have ever been used in the commission of a crime.

Conor Lally

Conor Lally

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times