A viral video appearing to show three men removing firearms from the boot of a car in Tallaght did not involve real guns, Gardaí have confirmed.
The footage has been widely shared across social media and has been viewed millions of times, with some posts claiming the incident took place outside a mosque in Tallaght.
However, The Journal reports Gardaí have established that the weapons shown in the video were replica airsoft guns and that no illegal firearms were involved.
The video shows three men being filmed by someone from another car while music can be heard playing in the background.
One of the men appears to remove a weapon from the boot of a car before shaking hands with another man. He then appears to point what looks like a rifle towards a nearby wall before handing it to the third man.
The men can be seen speaking to each other as they handle the replica weapons.
The footage has been shared widely in Ireland and by international social media accounts, with some posts attaching claims about where the incident took place and suggesting the men were involved in an exchange of firearms.
Gardaí confirmed that they were aware of the video circulating online, describing it as footage “purporting to show an exchange of firearms in Dublin.”
However, following enquiries, Gardaí said they had established that no illegal firearms were involved.
“An Garda Síochána has established that no illegal firearms were involved in this matter – these were replica (airsoft) guns,” Gardaí said.
Airsoft guns are replica weapons designed to fire small plastic pellets and can closely resemble real firearms.
