THREE military-grade machine guns were among firearms seized during a garda operation this weekend targeting individuals and locations linked to organised crime.
Eight pistols, ammunition and silencers were also discovered, as well as hundreds of thousands of euro worth of drugs.
Two men were arrested during the course of the searches, which were conducted as part of ongoing investigations targeting organised criminal activity under Operation Tara.
Gardaí said the weapons were military-grade firearms (Image: An Garda Síochána)The operation involved the Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), supported by the Garda Eastern Region, the Dublin Crime Response Team and the Emergency Response Unit.
Six locations in counties Laois and Kildare were searched from Friday to Sunday.
Gardaí uncovered the 11 military-grade firearms, ammunition and silencers as well as heroin, cocaine and cannabis with an estimated street value of more than €700,000.
As well as weapons, gardaí also seized ammunition and silencers (Image: An Garda Síochána)The firearms are due to be forwarded for technical examination by the Ballistics Section of the Garda Technical Bureau, while the drugs will be sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis.
The two men arrested, both aged in their 40s, are being detained at stations in the Midlands under Section 50 of Criminal Justice 2007.
Gardaí say investigations are ongoing.
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