Gardaí hunt for raiders after series of robberies

GARDAÍ were on the hunt for three groups of raiders yesterday following a number of robberies.

In the space of just 12 hours, robbers struck an ATM machine, a car park and a nightclub in a bid to steal cash.

The first incident occurred in the early hours of the morning at a nightclub in south Dublin.

As staff were preparing to leave following a busy Saturday night, a number of armed men entered the Mansion nightclub at the Spawell in Templeogue at about 3am.

Gardaí said no one was injured during the robbery, but that the men escaped with the money. The raiders were described as wearing black jackets and as 5ft 9in and 5ft 10in. One wore a baseball cap.

Later in the morning, a number of men in Co Meath used a digger in an attempt to smash a bank wall and steal an ATM machine. The raiders targeted the Ulster Bank in Athboy at 6am.

Using a yellow Hyundai digger, the four men attempted to tear the machine from the wall of the historic building. The mechanical digger had been stolen from a yard outside Athboy. At least four men were seen running away from the scene along the main street.

Gardaí were examining the machine for any clues last night as well as local CCTV footage. The raiders failed to get cash.

It is the second ATM raid since last Friday when robbers targeted another Ulster Bank ATM with a digger. The gang robbed the machine from a filling station in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford. Thieves last weekend also tried to rob a different Ulster Bank ATM machine in Clones, Monaghan, using a digger.

In another incident, raiders tied up and robbed carpark staff in central Dublin yesterday just minutes from St Stephen’s Green. The raiders targeted the Mercier Street car park at noon.

The robbers are understood to have stolen a significant amount of cash, believed to be tens of thousands of euro. A member of staff was also assaulted during the robbery and was later treated in St James’s Hospital.

The four raiders are believed to have made their escape in a black Audi car with a northern registration.