A Dublin man jailed for two years on firearms charges after gardaí seized a pistol and ammunition in a raid on his flat has lost his appeal against his conviction.
Colm Maguire (30) had challenged his conviction on grounds that his arrest at his flat at Fatima Mansions, Dublin, in the early hours of January 14th, 2001, was unlawful.
Members of the Garda Special Detective Unit, who were investigating IRA activities, obtained warrants to search Maguire's flat and went there after midnight on January 14th, 2001. The flat was empty when they arrived and they made a forced entry. A search was carried out and a .22 semi-automatic pistol, 25 rounds of 12-gauge shotgun cartridges and a radio scanner were found.
When Maguire and other persons returned to the flat at about 3.30 a.m., he was arrested. In July 2001, he was convicted at the non-jury Special Criminal Court on firearms charges and jailed for two years.
At the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday, Mr Patrick McCarthy SC, for Maguire, argued the arrest was unlawful because, he said, gardaí had concluded their search at the time Maguire returned to the flat and the search warrant was spent.
Counsel said a Garda officer had told the SCC in evidence that the gardaí had completed their search and were awaiting the return of Maguire.
Ms Mary Ellen Ring SC, for the DPP, said the search was not concluded at the time of the arrest.