Armed raid nets €200,000

AROUND €200,000 was stolen from security staff stocking a cash machine in the latest of three similar armed robberies in the greater Dublin area in a week.

Gardaí have not ruled out a connection between the three crimes, in which up to €500,000 was stolen.

Three masked men, one of them carrying a pump- action shotgun, carried out the robbery at around 11.30am yesterday outside the AIB Bank at Cornelstown in south Dublin.

They followed a security van to the back of the bank, where the crew were about to restock an ATM machine in the car park. They threatened the security staff with the gun and loaded a substantial amount of money, believed to be around €200,000, into their vehicle. No shots were fired.

The white 1999 D-registered Mitsubishi van was later found in the nearby Brigid’s Park estate.

Cabinteely gardaí (01 6665400) have appealed for information from anybody who saw suspicious activity.

Less than 24 hours earlier, four men took a substantial amount of money from staff loading an ATM machine at a shop in Carpenter’s Road, Blanchardstown. Gardaí in Maynooth, Co Kildare, are still trying to trace three men who held up staff stocking a cash machine on the university campus.