Gardai nab gang run by plumber that smuggled guns in from US after thug supplied AR-15 rifle that killed lad in Dublin

The Irish Sun

7 hours ago

, have fallen into the hands of some reckless groups here, who often did not know how to use them
The semi-automatic assault rifles, used in mass shootings in the
The semi-automatic assault rifles, used in mass shootings in the US , have fallen into the hands of some reckless groups here, who often did not know how to use them
PLUMB OUT OF LUCK Gardai nab gang run by plumber that smuggled guns in from US after thug supplied AR-15 rifle that killed lad in Dublin
THE gang run by a plumber that smuggled guns in from the US is also believed to have sold the military-grade AR-15 rifle used in the Republic's last gun killing.
The Irish Sun can reveal cops suspect Mark McCourt's mob — whose arms depot was in Ardee, Co Louth — supplied the firearm which saw Josh Itseli, 20, shot dead in May 2024.
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Plumber Mark McCourt ran a gang that smuggled guns into Ireland from the US
Credit: Social Media Collect
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Investigations identified Newry man McCourt, who led an organised crime group
Credit: Garda Press Office
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Josh Itseli, 20, was shot dead in May 2024
Credit: Journalist Collect
Detectives probing Itseli's death believe he was accidentally shot by his pal while in a car on their way to target rivals in Drimnagh, in Dublin's south inner city.
The chief suspect in the case, who threw the gun into a hedge near the scene, remains under investigation.
In a period of mayhem in the Irish gangland scene, it saw younger, local organised crime gangs — who were a number of layers beneath Ireland's most senior mobs — accessing lethal AR-15 firearms.
The semi-automatic assault rifles, used in mass shootings in the US, have fallen into the hands of some reckless groups here, who often did not know how to use them.
On the night before Itseli's killing, a post by his associate on social media asked if anyone knew how to use 'this thing'.
In an exclusive interview with The Irish Sun, Det Chief Supt Seamus Boland of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau told how it became a national priority to find who was supplying the guns after the concerning trend emerged.
He explained: 'We became extremely concerned when we saw weapons of the calibre of these AR-15s appearing in the possession of gangland figures here in Ireland. That was hugely concerning.'
The senior cop added: 'The AR-15s are synonymous with so many school shootings in the United States. And these are weapons that we hadn't come across before.'
Investigations quickly identified Newry man McCourt, who led an organised crime group smuggling guns from the US to Ireland.
Gardai release video footage of guns used by Gucci Gang as leader Glen 'Mr Flashy' Ward jailed
The operation saw his associate — who had US citizenship — legally buying firearms and strip them back into components before bringing them to Ireland.
McCourt then assembled and sold them onward to gangs in Dublin, Derry and Limerick.
But the thug's illicit scheme was smashed when armed gardai swooped on a warehouse in Ardee in July 2024.
Investigators seized 82 firearm components — which could be assembled into six AR-15 assault rifles — and 12 semi-automatic Glock pistols, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Once we identified a group as one of the highest risk criminal organisations in the country, particularly one that's going to be using violence and death, they had to become our main focus of our investigations."
Det Chief Supt Bolan
Det Chief Supt Boland added: 'Clearly to us there was a firearms trafficking route into Ireland that was obviously supplying these types of weapons.
"So that became a ­priority focus for us, the Drug ­Organised Crime Bureau.
'And the net result of our ­investigations is that we absolutely dismantled the trafficking route for AR-15s into this jurisdiction that was in place at the time.'
CASHING IN
McCourt pleaded guilty to six counts over facilitating a criminal organisation to import explosives, firearms and ammunition into the State.
He is due to be sentenced at the Special Criminal Court later this year.
His sentencing hearing last month offered an insight into the money McCourt was making.
The court also heard how McCourt sent a list of weaponry — including four AR-15 military grade assault rifles, five Glocks, ammunition and magazines — in ­messages to a buyer, saying that €75,000 in cash is the 'best price' he could do.
The major investigation is ongoing, with McCourt's close associate held and quizzed over the unlawful possession of ammunition last Monday.
Other criminals who accessed AR-15s in recent years included 'Mr Flashy' Glen Ward and his younger sibling Eric O'Driscoll.
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Other criminals who accessed AR-15s in recent years included 'Mr Flashy' Glen Ward and his younger sibling Eric O'Driscoll
Credit: irishphotodesk.ie
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The scene on Knocknarea Rd in the Drimnagh area of south Dublin, where Itseli was killed
Credit: RTE News
The pair are now serving prison sentences of five-and-a-half years and five years respectively after being caught in video footage firing the gun in the air at a house party in Finglas, Dublin, on New Year's Eve in 2022.
Itseli remains the last gun killing victim in the Republic, 15 months ago, as the major work done by the GNDOCB in foiling multiple attempts to kill has paid off.
Many of those willing to pull a trigger are now serving lengthy sentences behind bars.
Shootings erupted during the Kinahan cartel's onslaught on the rival Hutch gang in 2016.
And the GNDOCB were deployed on 20 occasions in threat to life operations, 26 times in 2017 and then 13 in 2018.
The following year saw 14 before it significantly dropped from 2020 onwards to just two, the same number again in 2021, three in 2022 and none in 2023.
Last year, there were four threat to life ops, including foiling a hit planned by Ireland's top gang The Family as they attempted to target slain drug dealer Cormac Berkeley's close associate.
'HAD TO BE RESILIENT'
Det Chief Supt Boland explained that the GNDOCB changed strategy in 2016 and became much more proactive in targeting the top level organised crime groups.
He told us: 'Once we identified a group as one of the highest risk criminal organisations in the country, particularly one that's going to be using violence and death, they had to become our main focus of our investigations.
'We had to be resilient enough to keep investigating them and not just be proactively investigating crimes as they're being committed, but identify who are the leaders, who are the facilitators, who's enhancing the groups, who are the members of these groups.'
The GNDOCB focused a lot of time and resources in doing covert operations, gathering evidence in the background against some of the most violent people who were working for these crime gangs.
Boland added: 'A lot of our criminals who have been around for decades and are willing to pull the trigger on a gun and take somebody's life, a lot of them are actually locked up in prison serving serious sentences at the moment.'
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Gardai searching for weapons in the undergrowth in the grounds of a day care centre on Curlew Road, Drimnagh
Credit: collinsphotos.com