Irish airport authorities have been warned to be on alert for passengers carrying small key-ring pistols, a number of which were recently seized at European airports.
Aer Rianta said it had not yet come across the device, which is just three inches long and fires .32 calibre bullets which can kill at a range of up to 20 yards.
Interpol, however, has issued a warning to airport police after it was notified last week that one of the pistols was discovered at Heathrow Airport, London. The discovery, made in December, followed finds in Greece and Australia last September. A fourth pistol was seized in Athens last week.
Believed to originate in Bulgaria, the leather-covered weapon cannot be spotted by metal detectors. It contains a grip, firing and locking buttons and two barrels. The pistol is cocked by pulling the ring on to which keys can be attached. The weapon can be twisted open for the purpose of loading ammunition and its firepower can be increased by using a barrel attachment.
The discovery in Heathrow was made after a passenger dropped the weapon and fled when confronted by airport police.
Australian police last year arrested a man carrying one of the pistols after he landed at Perth airport. He had been travelling from Bulgaria, where he is believed to have bought the weapon for £14, before being detected on a flight from Singapore.
An Australian Customs Service firearms officer, Mr Nigel Masterton (above), showing the key-ring gun and 8mm calibre cartridges in Perth, Australia, yesterday. The gun was confiscated from a passenger at Perth's International Airport last year. Photograph: Western Australian.
