Gardaí recover vehicle used in €2.5m security van heist

THE white van used in the robbery of around €2.5m from a security van on Wednesday has been discovered north of Dundalk.

Gardaí said that they had recovered the van in a public place at Dromad, after receiving information from a member of the public. Superintendent Noel McLoughlin, of Coolock Garda Station said gardaí were keeping an open mind on whether or not there was criminal or paramilitary involvement in the robbery. He said no money had been found in the van and it was not burnt out. “It has been transported here to our investigation headquarters (in Fentry) and is being technically examined.”

He said there had been a substantial amount of money in the Brinks Allied security van - but less than €2.5m and around Stg£60,000-£70,000.

The robbery took place when an armed gang intercepted the van as its crew stopped to get coffee at a service station in Killister, Dublin.

Mr McLoughlin said both the gunmen who held up the driver with a handgun, and his accomplice who followed the van to the Killister sports ground, had been masked.

He said that one of the men was thin, aged between 18 and 22 years and wore a shiny, black-type bomber jacket. The other man, aged between 24 and 28, was of a stockier build and wore a navy bomber jacket. Both had strong Dublin accents.

Mr McLoughlin said the robbery had taken place between 7.15am and 7.45am. He appealed for members of the public to come forward if they had seen the white van or any suspicious activity around that time.

“Somebody out there must have seen something,” he said.