The weapons were found in the hold of the plane

The officers were returning from a stag party, officers said on Tuesday.

The Gardai - all in their 20s and working in the Dublin area - were among six men travelling back to the Irish capital from the celebration in Berlin.

While in Germany they bought the items and some pepper spray at an army surplus store.

Some of the items were seized at a Berlin airport but the rest were put into the hold of the plane.

These items were openly for sale in Berlin and perhaps it may have been an oversight on their part in relation to their ability to bring them home Superintendent John Farrelly

The men were questioned when they stopped off at Stansted Airport on Monday and the remaining weapons were confiscated.

The six were allowed to carry on to Dublin Airport where they were then questioned by Irish police.

An Irish police spokesman said a number of non-lethal items had already been seized in Berlin,

'Offered explanations'

A spokesman for Essex Police said: "A number of offensive weapons were found at Stansted Airport in the hold of a flight from Berlin.

"Six men volunteered themselves to speak to the police.

"Two of them offered explanations about the items."

A Garda spokesman confirmed that six men - including three Irish police officers - were questioned about the weapons when they landed in Dublin on Monday night.

He added: "A full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident is being carried out by a senior officer."

Superintendent John Farrelly said the incident was not "sinister".

"At this stage we are satisfied from our preliminary inquiries that there was no criminal intent on behalf of the party," he said.

Other men questioned

"These items were openly for sale in Berlin and perhaps it may have been an oversight on their part in relation to their ability to bring them home."

A senior officer has been appointed to investigate the incident.

Mr Farrelly would not speculate on what action would be taken by the Garda Commissioner.

"It would be wrong to anticipate the reasoning behind this, to speculate in relation to the outcome of it because we have to deal with the procedures," he added.

"But it is an issue that we take quite seriously and of course the investigation will determine that."

He said three other men questioned were civilians.