Gardaí believe they have foiled an attack by dissident republicans, possibly against security forces in the North after they seized a van that had been packed with around half a tonne of an explosive mix.
All that was required to make it live was a number of electrical components. Around 1,100lb, or half a tonne, of explosive mix was found in the back of the van when gardaí raided an outhouse on farmlands near Hackballscross, Co Louth, yesterday afternoon.
It was part of a series of searches in Co Louth yesterday afternoon and evening. Six men were arrested in north Louth and Dundalk, including the suspected leader of the day-to-day operations of the "Real IRA".
Gardaí also believed they have broken the link between criminals and dissidents; the Omagh bomb resulted from co-operation between criminals, the INLA and the "Real IRA".
The key figure arrested yesterday is in his 30s. All those arrested are aged from their early 20s to their mid-30s, and were last night in custody under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act. They were being questioned in three Garda stations about the activities of dissident republicans.
The operation involved members of the Garda National Surveillance Unit, the Emergency Response Unit and gardaí and detectives from the Louth/Meath division.
In the first of a series of co-ordinated searches, an outhouse on isolated farmland close to Marley's Cross, between Iniskeen and Hackballscross, was searched around lunchtime and a van seized.
Gardaí last night confirmed they had arrested two men they suspected of being the most senior players in the dissident republican movement, including the Continuity IRA, when they raided an outhouse in Hackballscross. "This is a major blow to them and our searches are continuing," said one source. A senior Garda said: "There is no doubt that this explosive mixture was being prepared for use in an attack. Exactly where it would have been used we don't know."
Meanwhile, in a search in Tallanstown in mid-Louth last night, gardaí found evidence of bomb-making.