Hunt for gang members makes progress with hopes of arrests
The massive investigation is making progress and senior sources are hopeful of arrests.
The initial focus will be on those suspected of being on the edges of the gang involved in the murder.
Garda sources said they were identifying suspects who might have been involved in stealing the car used in the raid on the Lordship Credit Union, at Bellurgan, Co Louth, last Friday.
The dark blue, 08D Volkswagen Passat was taken during a burglary at a house in Clogherhead, Co Louth, overnight on Jan 22.
Detectives are also identifying suspects who might have supplied the firearms used in the raid or individuals who might have disposed of the weaponry.
In addition they are tracing people who might have supplied vehicles used by the five-man gang after they dumped the Passat in Darkley, south Armagh, and people who might have provided safe houses.
Officers are liaising with the PSNI to check the identities of possible suspects who might have used ferries or flights from Northern Ireland to Britain.
Senior gardaí suspect people on the fringes of the outfit might be willing to provide information rather than face a lengthy jail term.
Detectives also suspect that divisions may emerge within the five-man gang and those close to them, including their partners and siblings.
The 100-strong Garda team, backed up by the PSNI, is turning the heat up on criminals along the border in a bid to gather information and evidence against the gang involved.
The pressure being applied on the outfit mounted on Tuesday night after it emerged the Irish League of Credit Unions was offering a €50,000 reward for information leading to the arrests and prosecutions of those involved.
Gardaí and the PSNI are gathering CCTV footage between Bellurgan and Darkley and compiling information from people who think they might have seen the getaway car.
Gardaí also want to speak to anyone who saw the car parked up since it was stolen and in the hours before the actual robbery.
Speaking at the funeral, Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said no words could express the “great sense of loss and revulsion” caused by the “cold blooded murder” of Det Gda Donohoe. He added: “We, Adrian’s colleagues, are committed to ensuring we bring the perpetrators of this callous crime to justice.”
Fr Michael Cusack appealed to those with information to contact gardaí. “If you have any semblance of goodness in you, for God’s sake turn these people in.” He said these people were colluding in the murder if they failed to do so.
