Real Irish Republican Army - Weaponry

Weaponry

The RIRA initially took small amounts of materiel from Provisional IRA arms dumps under the control of McKevitt and other former Provisional IRA members, including the plastic explosive Semtex, Uzi submachine guns, AK-47 assault rifles, handguns, detonators and timing devices. The defection of senior Provisional IRA members also gave the RIRA the ability to manufacture home-made explosives and improvised mortars, including the Mark 15 mortar capable of firing a 200 lb shell.

In 1999 the organisation supplemented its equipment by importing arms from Croatia, including military explosive TM500, CZ Model 25 submachine guns, modified AK-47 assault rifles with a folding stock, and RPG-18 and RPG-22 rocket launchers. But a July 2000 attempt to smuggle a second consignment of arms was foiled by Croatian police, who seized seven RPG-18s, AK-47 assault rifles, detonators, ammunition and twenty packs of TM500.

In 2001 RIRA members travelled to Slovakia to procure arms, and were caught in a sting operation by the British security agency MI5. The men attempted to purchase 5 tonnes of plastic explosives, 2,000 detonators, 500 handguns, 200 rocket-propelled-grenades, and also wire-guided missiles and sniper rifles, but were arrested and extradited to the UK and subsequently imprisoned for 30 years after pleading guilty to conspiring to cause explosions and other charges.

In June 2006, the PSNI made a number of arrests following a MI5 sting operation targeting a dissident republican gun smuggling plot. The RIRA had attempted to procure arms from France including Semtex and C-4 plastic explosives, SAM-7 surface-to-air missiles, AK-47s, rocket launchers, heavy machine guns, sniper rifles, pistols with silencers, anti-tank weapons and detonators. On 30 June 2010, two of those arrested were found guilty following a trial by judge in Belfast. On 1 October 2010 one man was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for attempting to import weapons and explosives, the other was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for making a Portuguese property available for the purpose of terrorism.