An “extremely significant” car bomb has been intercepted while attempting to cross the Irish border into the UK as part of an operation targeting dissident republicans, Garda said.
Two people have been arrested after the vehicle was stopped on the N2 near Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, at about 3pm local time on Wednesday, including a woman in her 20s and a man in his 40s.
The bomb had been completed and was ready for use, Irish broadcaster RTÉ has reported.
Garda requested the assistance of the Irish Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team who examined the vehicle, with the outcome not being released for operational reasons.
The Army Bomb Disposal team was called in to make the device safe, before it was removed for a forensic examination.
The driver of the car, a woman in her 20s, was arrested and is being detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.
A man in his 40s has also since been arrested, and can also be questioned for up to three days.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly confirmed details of the operation as he spoke to media at a Garda graduation event in Co Tipperary this afternoon.
“To be clear, what we found was an extremely significant seizure,” he said.
“So this was an explosive device.”
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