Gang abducts bank official’s husband in €130,000 raid
The couple, in their early 30s, were approached by the gang at their home in the Dun Emer lawn estate in Lusk, north County Dublin, at approximately 9am.
After a short altercation the woman, who had just returned after dropping off her young child to a local crèche, was ordered to travel to the Bank of Ireland branch in Coolock village where she worked and remove the money.
The gang told the woman that her husband, who had been tied up and moved to Tallaght in a white van, would be seriously injured if she did not comply.
The woman, who is said to be severely traumatised, then left for work and withdrew the money from the branch at around 11am.
Following the criminals’ instructions, she left the money in a gold-coloured car in nearby Greenwood Avenue.
At 2pm the woman’s husband managed to free himself from the van in Tallaght and raised the alarm.
While the couple suffered no physical injuries, senior investigating garda Mark Curran said a nationwide manhunt for the gang has been launched, led by officers from Coolock and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
They are appealing to anyone who saw the white van or the gold car in Lusk, Coolock or Tallaght in recent days to contact them or to report anyone seen acting suspiciously in Dun Emer lawn estate, Coolock village, Greenwood Avenue in Coolock or Carraigmore estate in Tallaght.
Bank of Ireland has also launched an internal investigation into the incident.
In a statement the company said the safety of their employee and her family was the priority.
Yesterday’s kidnapping follows another hostage-for -cash attack in February when an armed gang held a family with a young child during a multi-million euro robbery at the Bank of Ireland in Dublin’s College Green.
Gardaí urged anyone with information on yesterday’s robbery to contact Coolock Garda Station on 01 6664200 or the Garda confidential line 1800 666 111.
