Boss of gun-running ring that smuggled weapons from US could face up to 14 years in jail
Before the Special Criminal Court on Thursday was Mark McCourt (34), of Edenrieve, Newry, Co Down, who previously pleaded guilty to firearms offences and participating in a criminal organisation's efforts to import restricted weapons.
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Counsel for the State, Simon Matthews BL said the Director of Public Prosecutions had placed the offending at the higher end of the scale, which carries a sentence of 10 to 14 years.
The matter has gone back to November 3rd next for sentencing, with the accused remanded in custody.
When McCourt appeared before the Special Criminal Court earlier this week, a senior garda said in evidence to the three-judge court that he was 'fully satisfied' that there was a criminal organisation in existence under the 'control and direction' of McCourt 'whose function was the importation of firearms components from the USA to Ireland, and the reassembly of these restricted firearms for onward distribution to other criminal organisations'.
Detective Inspector Shane McCartan of the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, who led an investigation into the gang's activities last year, said a firearms technician had been able to assemble 82 gun parts seized in a raid on a property in Co Louth last year into six assault rifles and a dozen pistols.
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Det Insp McCartan said McCourt had already been identified in connection with the suspected importation of firearms when the defendant was arrested for something else on May 24th 2024 and had his phone seized.
Gardaí were able to extract data from the phone shedding light on the activities of the smuggling ring in the preceding year, along with conversations with prospective customers in messages on Signal, WhatsApp and Snapchat, the witness said.
Det Insp McCartan said McCourt and his co-accused both flew to Las Vegas, Nevada on three occasions in April and May 2023.
The witness told the court that in one text message, McCourt told one prospective customer -- who used the alias 'The Keeler' – that '€75k cash is [the] best price' for a number of firearms, adding: 'I'll throw in the 10 pipes for free.'
Det Insp McCartan said: 'It's my belief that refers to pipe bombs.'
He told the court the defendant has some 42 previous convictions including assault causing harm, theft, and dangerous driving 'on the high end'.
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