Two crime bosses arrested as gardaí foil raid on bookies

GARDAÍ yesterday described as “very significant” a sting operation on Monday which resulted in the arrest of two major criminals.

The two crime bosses were part of a five-man outfit pounced on by gardaí as they were about to raid a bookmakers in south Dublin.

The operation was the second successful sting this month by a special garda unit set up to combat organised crime in the city.

The organised crime unit, which is part of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI), swooped on the gang, seizing a number of weapons and a high-powered stolen car.

The gang was targeting the owner of Chronicle bookmakers, who was returning to his office with takings from the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse.

As well as firearms, armed gardaí seized hammers, balaclavas, boiler suits and plastic ties, which were intended to be used as restraints on the staff.

A garda spokeswoman said: “This was an operation involving the NBCI and the local crime unit. No shots were fired, no money was taken and five men were taken into custody.”

Gardaí are understood to have been watching the gang for some time. The gang is led by two men who are suspected of being major drug traffickers from the Blanchardstown area of north west Dublin.

“We’re quiet pleased. This is a very significant arrest,” said one garda source.

They were detained under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, which permits a maximum detention period of three days. They are being held in separate stations in Blackrock, Shankill and Dun Laoghaire.

The operation followed a successful sting on another armed gang on April 6 as it prepared to take a payroll from a firm in Balbriggan, north Dublin.

The four-man gang included a Finglas criminal thought to be among the biggest armed robbers in the city.

Meanwhile, gardaí in north Dublin are investigating an aggravated burglary on the home of a bookmaker on Monday, who was also returning from Fairyhouse racecourse.

The man’s wife, aged in her 70s, answered the door to their house in Cabra at around 8pm. One of the robbers managed to con his way inside and then let in a second raider.

Gardaí said the men were thought to have been armed with a knife and possibly a shotgun.

The men waited for the bookmaker to return and took his cash, believed to amount to around €50,000.

The raiders, described as being in the late 20s, then stole the family car, which they abandoned nearby.

In a separate investigation, gardaí yesterday continued their hunt for a lone attacker who assaulted a man in Dublin’s Temple Bar on Sunday.

The 30-year-old received serious facial injuries in the attack, including to his right eye, and is being treated in the intensive care unit in St James’s Hospital.

Gardaí believe the attacker fled the area in a taxi at around 4.20am and have appealed for the driver to come forward.