Gardaí foil armed raid and arrest crime boss
The gang chief and an associate were waiting inside a disused bank, which still has an operational ATM, as a cash delivery was being made in Dunboyne, Co Meath, yesterday morning.
Specialist Garda squads, which had been conducting surveillance on the facility, swooped before a security worker carrying a cash cartridge entered the premises.
When they challenged the gang leader — armed with a semi-automatic pistol and wearing body armour — he immediately surrendered.
They arrested the two men and simultaneously nabbed a third gang member, the driver of a getaway vehicle, located nearby.
The three men, aged in their early to late 30s, are considered by senior gardaí as “top-end criminals” and well-known for involvement in armed robberies and tiger kidnappings.
The operation was led by the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) and a number of armed units, including the Special Crime Task Force. Sources said the three men were “very high” on the DOCB’s target list.
The gang members are all from the Finglas and Blanchardstown areas of north-west Dublin, although one of them is living elsewhere.
It is thought that the cartridge the security van worker was carrying contained between €50,000 and €100,000.
Gardaí said it is possible the gang may have waited for the worker to fill the ATM, which could involve three-to-four cartridges, totalling anywhere between €150,000 and €400,000.
Speaking at a press conference Detective Superintendent Tony Howard of the DOCB said the body armour would have been worn in the event of a firearm being discharged.
“So, the individuals concerned, at least one of them had body armour.
“So, it was anticipated on their part, it would appear, that they may come into contact with An Garda Síochána,” he said.
Also speaking at the briefing, Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan said: “We have a number of people arrested, a firearm seized, a very significant disruption of criminals who are intent on causing harm.
“This is the work that men and women of An Garda Síochána do every single day, to make sure they protect communities and, in doing so, sometimes put themselves in harm’s way.”
But the commissioner declined to comment on the latest controversy surrounding whistleblowers: “That is something we will deal with another day.”
