Gardaí quiz trio over hold-ups
A couple in their 20s were picked up at around 4.30pm on Saturday and an older man in his 40s was arrested later that day.
They were questioned about two armed raids that happened in Dundalk last year, including one where two men and a woman dressed as gardaí forced their way into a cash and carry in the border town.
The couple, a 29-year-old man and 21-year-old woman, with an address in Tallaght, have been released but the second man was still being questioned last night. The woman was released at around midnight on Saturday while her partner was held until yesterday afternoon.
All three were arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, which allows suspects to be questioned for up to 72 hours.
They were picked up by detectives investigating two raids in particular, both in Dundalk, one in December last year, the other seven months earlier.
A gang with republican paramilitary connections was suspected of carrying out the well planned and executed armed raid on the Value Centre on December 5 last year. One garda described it is a “military style operation”. Up to 15 people were involved and they managed to escape with £200,000 worth of cigarettes and £65,000 in cash.
Three of the robbers, wearing garda uniforms, managed to gain entry into the store. Once in, they pulled out handguns and forced staff to open service gates that allowed other members of the gang to drive into the yard in a van and car.
Dozens of boxes of cigarettes, destined for the black market, were loaded into vans and the robbers forced the manager to hand over the cash.
No shots were fired during the raid but some of the staff were roughly handled and a number needed treatment for cuts and bruises. Gardaí speculated at the time that the raid was carried out by elements connected to paramilitaries.
The three were also questioned about a hold-up at a cinema in Dundalk in May 2001.
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