Updated: 12.00

A fourth man has been arrested after seized following a garda operation tackling organised crime in Dublin on Saturday morning.

Three men - one in aged his 20s and two in their 30s - were arrested for conspiracy to murder.

A Garda Emergency Response Unit intercepted a van on Gardiners Street in the capital shortly before 8.00am.

Three firearms recovered are described as a sub-machine gun, a semi-automatic pistol and a revolver.

As part of a follow-up operation, gardaí arrested a fourth man, aged in his 40s.

He is being detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act at a Dublin garda station.

The three other men are also being held at garda station in the capital.

Gardaí have also carried out searches in north, and the north inner-city Dublin.

Assistant Commissioner John O' Driscoll, who is responsible for Special Crime Operations (SCO) within the Garda Síochána, said: "We stated on numerous occasions that our efforts at tackling organised crime, particularly where it gives rise to threat to life, is unrelenting.

"The action taken today, through a combination of the resources assigned to SCO and security and intelligence, within the Garda Síochána, has yet again resulted in the arrests of suspects and the associated seizure of firearms.

"Those within the world of organised crime who display a total disregard for human life remain within our focus and we are determined to cause them to be arrested, charged and where the courts determine there is sufficient evidence, convicted and incarcerated within our prisons".

Assistant Commissioner O’ Driscoll added: "On-going liaison with other law enforcement authorities at both national and international level, is maximising the Garda Síochána's potential to deliver regular and significant impacts on the world of organised crime".