Courts / Dublin / Report
Nine years for man who hid weapons arsenal in car boot
Summary
Graham Gardner, 35, was jailed for nine years after police found two machine guns, three revolvers, two silencers and 107 rounds of ammunition in the boot of a Ford Focus van. The van, which had a hidden compartment accessed by a pulley system, was discovered in an underground carpark near where Gardaí had approached Gardner. Gardner, who wore a bulletproof vest and carried a key he claimed was a spare, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of firearms and ammunition. He had 40 prior convictions for minor offences. Gardaí found his DNA on the weapons and noted that the van and a second vehicle had been bought under false names. Gardner had fled to England after failing to attend a court hearing, but later surrendered and was extradited back to Ireland. The judge accepted his admissions and the seriousness of the case, sentencing him to nine years in custody, backdated to his September 2023 arrest.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Nine years for man who hid weapons arsenal in car boot. Charges or matters: possession of the various firearms and ammunition at Quarry Road, Cabra on November 5, 2016. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- November 2016 Other
- November 5, 2016 Incident
- August 2017 Incident
- 2020-05-18 Publication
Why: Det Gda Doolan accepted that Gardner later claimed he had fled to England because his life was under threat but added that Gardner's solicitor had been advised that the gardaí were going to object to him getting bail at the 2017 hearing where he failed to show up. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: possession of the various firearms and ammunition at Quarry Road, Cabra on November 5, 2016 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: He further accepted that Gardner's admissions were helpful to the garda investigation before he jailed him for nine years, backdating the sentence to when he went into custody last September.
Places mentioned
- was taken to the garda station
- Carnlough Road
- Dublin
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Quarry Road
Topics
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