Man arrested as gardai find two handguns in car

The 26-year-old man and his woman driver were travelling through Co Wicklow on Wednesday when they were intercepted.

He is originally from the Lismore area of Crumlin but has been living in the Redwood estate in Tallaght

He has a number of previous convictions including damage to property and possession of weapons.

His arrest came when members of a local traffic unit became suspicious after getting a strong smell of drugs when their Volkswagen car was stopped near Ashford, Co Wicklow.

The incident happened on Wednesday on the N11 road from Wexford to Dublin at Coyne's Cross.

Two handguns were found after the two uniformed gardai attached to Wicklow town traffic unit stopped the Volkswagen car. In a "drugs search" they uncovered the weapons concealed up the left sleeve of the man's jacket.

The handguns were wrapped in a plastic bag.

The weapons have been sent for examination by ballistic experts to establish if they have been used in specific shooting.

In the search operation the gardai also found a small quantity of herbal cannabis.

The woman was also detained but later released.

cmallon@herald.ie