Gardaí recovered a CS gas canister, a stun gun, pick-axe handles, balaclavas and a fake Garda jacket after five men seen acting suspiciously by an off-duty Special Branch officer were arrested in Bray, the Special Criminal Court in Dublin has been told.
The court heard yesterday that gardaí found four of the men seated on the floor of a transit van and two of them were dressed in fake Garda uniforms.
Mr George Birmingham SC, prosecuting, said the men were arrested after Det Garda Michael Masterson, who lives in Bray, noticed suspicious activity around three vehicles.
It was day one of the trial of five Dublin men - Mr Thomas Gilson (24), Jobstown, Tallaght; Mr Patrick Brennan (40), Clondalkin; Mr Seán O'Donnell (32), Sandymount; Mr John Troy (22), Donard Avenue, and Mr Stephen Birney (30), Clontarf, who have pleaded not guilty to membership of the IRA in October 2002.
Mr Birmingham said Det Garda Masterson called for assistance after he noticed "toing and froing" around a Nissan Almera, a Ford Transit van and a Nissan Micra parked at Corke Abbey in Bray, Co Wicklow, on October 10th.
When Garda Ronan Mannion and Garda Patrick Twomey spotted a black balaclava and radio on the floor of the Ford Transit van, they radioed for assistance and within minutes a large number of gardaí arrived.
When Garda Twomey opened the side door, he found four men seated on the floor. Mr Gilson and Mr O'Donnell were "dressed in attire similar to that of the gardaí - sky blue shirts and navy trousers". The five men were arrested and taken to Bray Garda station.
"In the course of their detention, the gardaí became suspicious that their activity was an IRA operation and those detained were in fact IRA members," Mr Birmingham added. Each was released from their initial detention and rearrested under the Offences Against the State Act.
Gardaí recovered from the van a lump hammer, two pick-axe handles, cable ties, black balaclavas, two navy blue neckties, woollen gloves, a fluorescent jacket with the word "Garda" on it, four radios and a box of rubber gloves. In the Nissan, which was stolen, gardaí found a blue strobe light, a canister of CS gas, and a stun gun.
In a search of Mr Birney's home, gardaí found a Motorola radio, a mirror with Óglaigh na hÉireann on it,a poster of five masked men with the words "Victory to the IRA" on it, and a poster of a number of armed masked men.
During a search of Mr Brennan's home, gardaí found books referring to small arms and Kalashnikov rifles and one titled British Intelligence and Covert Action.
Mr Birmingham said the court would hear evidence from Det Chief Supt Phil Kelly, head of the Special Branch, that each of the accused was a member of the IRA.
The trial continues today.