A MAN in his 40s has been arrested and a suspected handgun seized by Gardaí in Cork.
The arrest followed the report of a suspicious looking car in the Knocknaheeny area of Cork city at around 1:30am this Monday, March 23.
A subsequent patrol of the area by officers from Gurranabraher Garda Station succeeded in locating a vehicle matching that description.
The car was subsequently searched with gardaí discovering a suspected handgun and a jerry can of petrol. The vehicle was also reportedly driving with fake registration plates.
A man, said to be in his early 40s, was arrested at the scene of the discovery.
He was taken to Mayfield Garda Station where he is being detained under Section 30, Offences Against the State Act of 1939.
The suspected handgun, meanwhile, has been sent off for further analysis in a lab.
Gardaí have seized a suspected handgun and arrested a man in his early 40s after stopping a car the Knocknaheeny area of #Cork city 1.30am this morning.
They also found a jerry can of petrol in the car. pic.twitter.com/t0xgfrI7Rz— Eoin English (@EoinBearla) March 23, 2020
Commenting on the arrest, Superintendent Michael Comyns at Mayfield Garda Station thanked those responsible for the initial tip-off about the suspicious looking car.
He also suggested that their actions could well end up being life-saving ones.
"I want to thank the members of the public who picked up the phone and called us when they spotted something they didn’t think was normal,” he said.
"The community should be commended for their actions and as a result, we have possibly saved a life here today."
