The documents seen by Extra.ie are part of a number of protected disclosures that also allege automatic firearms, ammunition, and explosives were kept in a shipping container at HQ without any proper documentation, tracing, or security.
The revelations come in the wake of claims by a Garda whistleblower – also published by Extra.ie – that the "arms dump," as he termed it, was secured only by a combination padlock.
The lock’s combination was known to Garda members outside of the Firearms section. The allegations point to a potential for firearms and explosives to find their way to criminals, and weaknesses in the Garda system for logging evidence and custody of seized items.
The protected disclosures have been made to Garda superiors, former minister for justice Helen McEntee, and Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
Previously, our sources revealed details of defective firearms holsters that contributed to the murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan.
The latest revelation, according to extracts from the protected disclosure published in Extra.ie today for the first time, shows a senior garda illegally took ownership of firearms – which were earmarked for destruction – with the intention of selling them on for profit.
The garda convinced a "court-appointed receiver" to "sign over ownership of the most valuable firearms which were intended for destruction."
The receiver was supposed to be handling and logging firearms that had been seized or otherwise came to the Garda armoury before they were sent for destruction.
Often these firearms might be earmarked for destruction despite being in good working order or requiring minor work, and remained valuable.
According to the disclosures, the officer left the weapons at the Garda Firearms Stores without being properly logged, and then, when "fully retired, [they] would sell all of the firearms [they] had acquired in that way."
According to a protected disclosure that has been seen by Extra.ie, the whistleblower said: "I have significant evidence-based concerns that [Redacted1] has abused [their] position within An Garda Síochána."
They added: "I believe this abuse of position and authority has given rise to possible breaches of the law with respect to health and safety, proper procurement compliance, pricing and vendor management."
The whistleblower, who is a firearms expert and a former member of the Defence Forces who worked at Garda HQ in the Phoenix Park, alleged that there was collusion in this procurement of firearms for sale by other senior gardaí.
They claimed: "These issues arise from a more fundamental failure of supervision by more senior management who were at all times aware and complicit in the way [Redacted1] operated over many years within An Garda Síochána…"
The whistleblower went on to allege the Garda member would also "obtain firearms from a supplier for [their] personal use."
They added: "It is my reasonable belief that [their] actions were an offence under Section 7 of the Criminal Offence (Corruption Offences) Act 2018."
In his disclosure, the whistleblower said that the garda had been in a position of influence in the armoury and "persuaded a court-appointed receiver, who was handing over arms to the Firearms Stores for destruction, to do a personal deal with [them]."
The garda allegedly "used [their] position to get the company’s receiver to sign over ownership of what [they] believed to be the most valuable firearms, which were intended for destruction."
The whistleblower added: "[They] used [their] influence to ensure that [they] personally could take ownership of the firearms, and then [they] used [their] position within the armoury to ensure that they were not destroyed. No formalities were possible, no gift or formal transfer took place and no registration of the firearms in question occurred.
"[Redacted1] advised us that when [they] was fully retired, [they] would sell all of the firearms acquired in that way."
There was some record of the garda’s name connecting them to the firearms, but this could easily be deleted, the disclosures allege.
According to the whistleblower, the Firearms Stores used a "Microsoft Excel" spreadsheet to log guns owned by civilians legally stored in Garda HQ, firearms seized from criminals and firearms handed over in amnesties.
A protected disclosure said: "However, the firearms in question are in [their] name on the Firearms Stores spreadsheet.
"This document lists all personal firearms owned by both civilians handed over during an amnesty and An Garda Síochána members past and present. It lists the guns owned by civilians which are stored in the armoury in Garda HQ. This spreadsheet is no more than a normal Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
"[Redacted3] has primary access to it. Items can be added and deleted from it without any tracking or oversight. My own personal firearms were listed on this spreadsheet as they were stored in Garda Headquarters."
Extra.ie revealed at the weekend that, according to previously secret documents, "a large store of arms, ammunition and certain explosives, which was completely undocumented and untracked," was kept in "a large orange shipping container located in Garda HQ next to the [Garda] Hospital" since at least 2008.
The container held "thousands of rounds of official AGS (An Garda Síochána) and seized ammunition, flares and fireworks, and in excess of 100 firearms," the whistleblower alleges.
The revelations from Extra.ie are from a whistleblower associated with previous revelations in our newspapers about defective Garda holsters that contributed to incidents including the death of Det Gda Horkan while on duty.
In 2023, we revealed a whistleblower had warned that holsters used by officers were "not fit for purpose," before incidents that led to the death of Det Gda Horkan and left another officer with life-changing injuries.
We revealed Garda management and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission were told of problems with the holsters in 2019.
Det Gda Horkan was shot dead with his own official firearm after killer Stephen Silver took it from its holster in Castlerea, Co Roscommon, on June 17, 2020.
Detective Garda Colm Horkan. (RollingNews.ie)
Just days earlier, on June 11, a garda’s gun was accidentally discharged outside the Israeli embassy, resulting in the officer suffering life-changing injuries.
It recently emerged that 15 months after Det Gda Horkan was killed, a woman was able to take a firearm from the holster of a garda trying to arrest her partner in Dublin.
Labour TD Alan Kelly has been pursuing the matter in the Dáil, but has been frustrated at the responses received.
Answers given by the Department of Justice about when it became aware of the defective holsters – in response to questions from Mr Kelly on February 6 – had to be corrected twice.
The department eventually conceded it knew about the matter in August 2020. Mr. Kelly told Extra.ie that latest revelations "are shocking and from a source separate to what I revealed in the Dáil recently."
He added: "It is beyond time now for [Justice] Minister [Jim] O’Callaghan to ask why his department hasn’t been informed fully by the [Garda] Commissioner [Drew Harris] about these and many other issues Extra.ie are reporting, and I’ve raised in the Dáil… I’m publicly calling on the minister to address these questions and issues now."
An Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice were asked detailed questions about much of the information supplied to our sister paper.
The department did not respond. A Garda spokesman refused to comment specifically numerous times, but added that the matters raised had been discussed by the force with its relevant oversight bodies.
*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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