Wednesday 28 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 1710Possession of a firearm, possession of controlled drugs (cannabis, heroin) · Co. Dublin · 8 May 2025

Gardaí seize shotgun, motorcycles, drugs and tracking device in Finglas searches

A drone carrying an improvised explosive device crashed at a home in Glenties Park, Finglas, north Dublin, around 9pm on Sunday (reported as 4 May in some sources and 5 May in others), the first time a bomb has been delivered by drone in Ireland. The device was being flown towards a target elsewhere, not the family's home, and was part of a dispute between two rival crime gangs in Finglas. A house was also petrol bombed and shot up with a shotgun around the same time, and Gardaí believe both attacks were carried out by the same gang. On Thursday 8 May 2025, Gardaí conducted eight searches at residences in Finglas, seizing a pump-action shotgun, 26 rounds of ammunition, four motorcycles, approximately €10,000 in cannabis, heroin worth €4,200, a tracking device, and phones. The gang is led by a criminal who was once a key ally of Glen Ward and is a suspect in a 2022 murder bid and the 2023 Browne's Steakhouse attack; investigations are ongoing with no arrests or charges reported.

  1. Reported7 May
    3 reports
  2. Arrested
  3. Charged
  4. In court
  5. Verdict
  6. Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
What happened
  • A drone carrying an improvised explosive device crashed at a home in Glenties Park, Finglas, around 9pm, the first time a bomb has been delivered by drone in Ireland.
  • The IED was being flown towards a target elsewhere, not the family's home, and was more sophisticated than a pipe bomb with an electronic charging component.
  • A house was petrol bombed and shot up with a shotgun around the same time, and Gardaí believe both attacks were carried out by the same gang.
  • A pump-action shotgun, 26 rounds of ammunition, four motorcycles, approximately €10,000 in cannabis, heroin worth €4,200, a tracking device, and phones were seized.
Where
The incident and subsequent searches took place in Finglas, north Dublin.
When
The drone crashed around 9pm on Sunday (reported as 4 May in some sources and 5 May in others) and eight searches were conducted on Thursday 8 May 2025.
Cause
The IED was used as part of a dispute between two rival crime gangs in Finglas, and military experts believe the gang got the idea from watching footage of the war in Ukraine.
Investigation
  • The Defence Forces EOD unit made the device safe with a controlled explosion, several houses were evacuated, and the drone was recovered largely intact for forensic and technical examination.
  • Eight searches at residences in Finglas were conducted on 8 May with support from the Garda Emergency Response Unit, Armed Support Unit, and Dog Unit.
  • Gardaí said investigations are ongoing with no arrests or charges reported.
Other details
The gang is led by a criminal who was once a key ally of Glen Ward and is a suspect in a murder bid on Glen Ward and Eric O'Driscoll in June 2022 and the attack on Browne's Steakhouse in Blanchardstown on Christmas Eve 2023.
56 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatThe IED was being flown towards a target elsewhere, not the family's home (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatThe IED was more sophisticated than a pipe bomb and had an electronic charging component (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
  • whatIt is the first time in Ireland that a bomb has been delivered by drone (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatSeveral houses in the area were evacuated during the EOD operation (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatA house was petrol bombed and shot up with a shotgun around the same time as the IED incident (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
  • whatGardaí believe the drone attack and petrol bomb were carried out by the same gang (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatA home-made IED was delivered by drone, the first time in Ireland a bomb has been delivered that way. (dublinlive.ie)
  • whatThe drone was being flown towards a target elsewhere, not the family's home. (dublinlive.ie)
  • whatGardaí conducted a number of searches at residences in the Finglas area on Thursday morning. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatA pump-action shotgun was seized. (irishmirror.ie)
  • what26 rounds of ammunition were seized. (irishmirror.ie, irishtimes.com)
  • whatFour motorcycles were seized. (irishmirror.ie, irishtimes.com)
  • whatApproximately €10,000 in cannabis was seized, subject to analysis. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatHeroin with an estimated value of €4,200 was seized. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatA tracking device was seized. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatPhones and other technology were seized as evidence. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatGangsters used a drone to launch a flying bomb attack against a rival on May 5. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatA pump-action shotgun was seized by gardaí. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatDrugs worth about €14,000 were seized. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatA tracking device and phones were seized. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatEight searches at residences were conducted in the area. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatA drone carrying an improvised explosive device crashed in Finglas the previous week. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatAround €10,000 in cannabis and heroin with an estimated value of €4,200 were among the seizures. (irishtimes.com)
  • whereThe drone crashed at the home of an innocent family in Glenties Park, Finglas, at around 9pm on Sunday (irishmirror.ie)
  • whereThe drone crashed at a home in Glenties Park, Finglas, around 9pm on Sunday. (dublinlive.ie)
  • whereThe seizures took place in Finglas, north Dublin. (irishtimes.com)
  • whenThe searches were carried out on Thursday (8 May 2025). (irishtimes.com)
  • causeThe IED was used as part of a simmering dispute between two rival crime gangs in Finglas (irishmirror.ie)
  • causeMilitary experts believe the gang got the idea for the drone attack from watching footage of the war in Ukraine (irishmirror.ie)
  • causeThe IED was used as part of a dispute between two rival crime gangs in Finglas. (dublinlive.ie)
  • causeThe searches were part of the policing response to illegal drone activity in the Finglas area on Monday, May 5. (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationThe EOD team carried out a controlled explosion on the device (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationThe drone that carried the IED was recovered largely intact for forensic and technical examination (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
  • investigationLocal detectives backed by the Emergency Response Unit carried out one search in Finglas on Monday (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationThe Defence Forces' EOD unit made the device safe after an alert lasting into the early hours of the morning. (dublinlive.ie)
  • investigationA controlled explosion was carried out on the device and several houses were evacuated. (dublinlive.ie)
  • investigationGardaí believe the drone attack and the petrol bomb were both carried out by the same gang. (dublinlive.ie)
  • investigationLocal detectives backed by the Emergency Response Unit carried out one search in Finglas on Monday, but the target is not suspected of making the device. (dublinlive.ie)
  • investigationA Garda spokesperson said investigations are ongoing. (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationThe searches were part of a response to illegal drone activity locally. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationThe operation was supported by the Garda Emergency Response Unit, the Garda Armed Support Unit and the Garda Dog Unit. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationGardaí said investigations were ongoing. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherThe gang leader is a suspect for a murder bid on Glen Ward and Eric O'Driscoll in Finglas in June 2022 (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
  • otherThe gang leader is also a suspect for the attack on Browne's Steakhouse in Blanchardstown on Christmas Eve 2023 (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherTristan Sherry was murdered moments after fatally wounding Jason Hennessy, 48, at Browne's Steakhouse (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherGlen Ward was jailed for five and a half years for firing a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle from a Finglas home in January 2022 (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherEric O'Driscoll was jailed for five years for the same firearms offence (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThe gang behind the attack is led by a criminal who was once a key ally of Glen 'Mr Flashy' Ward. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherThe gang leader is also a suspect for the Browne's Steakhouse attack in Blanchardstown on Christmas Eve 2023. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherGunman Tristan Sherry was murdered moments after fatally wounding Jason Hennessy, 48, in the Browne's Steakhouse attack. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherGlen Ward, 32, was jailed for five and a half years for firing a semi-automatic AR-15 from a Finglas home during a house party in January 2022. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherEric O'Driscoll was jailed for five years after pleading guilty to possessing the same AR-15 rifle. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherMilitary experts believe the gang got the idea for a drone attack by watching footage of the war in Ukraine. (dublinlive.ie)
  • otherThe searches were supported by members from Blanchardstown, Cabra, the Garda Emergency Response Unit, the Garda Armed Support Unit and the Garda Dog Unit. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThe eight searches followed a number of others conducted in recent days. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThe incident is understood to be part of a feud between crime gangs. (irishtimes.com)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 9 May2025
    Reportedirishtimes.com, follow-up
    Shotgun, ammunition and drugs seized by gardaí in raid following attempted drone bomb attack

    First report of the drone bomb incident and the subsequent eight searches in Finglas; investigations ongoing with no arrests or charges yet.

  2. 8 May2025
    Otheririshmirror.ie, first report
    Gardaí seize shotgun, four motorcycles, cannabis, heroin and tracking device

    Reports eight searches in Finglas on 8 May 2025 following a drone-launched flying bomb attack on 5 May 2025, with seizure of a shotgun, ammunition, motorcycles, drugs and a tracking device; investigations ongoing.

  3. 7 May2025
    Reporteddublinlive.ie, follow-up
    Race to catch who built Ireland's first ever drone bomb after Finglas incident

    Provides detailed account of the drone-borne IED, the EOD response, the linked petrol bomb and shotgun attack, and identifies the suspect gang as led by a former ally of Glen Ward who is also a suspect in the 2022 murder bid and the 2023 Browne's Steakhouse attack.

    victimsuspect
  4. 7 May2025
    Reportedirishmirror.ie, follow-up
    Gardai in race to catch criminal who built Ireland’s first ever drone bomb

    Provides details on the drone-borne IED including the crash location (Glenties Park), the Defence Forces EOD response, the linked petrol bomb and shotgun attack, the gang rivalry context, and the belief that the gang got the idea from Ukraine war footage.

    suspect, malesuspect, male