Post office raid foiled as gardaí arrest armed duo

An armed robbery attempt on a post office in Co Westmeath was foiled by gardaí today as part of an operation targeting criminal activity in the midlands.

A sawn-off shotgun was seized as two men were arrested at Baylough, Athlone, Co Westmeath.

Superintendent Aidan Glackin, from Athlone Garda Station, said the arrests were part of Operation Anvil to crack down on armed crime.

“The arrests culminated from a period of work under the guise of Operation Anvil, a national operation against people involved in armed crime,” he said.

Supt Glackin said the operation involving armed and uniformed gardaí from Athlone station and the National Units was specifically targeting people committing armed crime in the area.

“The two men arrested were suspected of carrying out other armed crime over the last few months,” he said.

“We suspected they were going to rob the post office at Baylough.”

The two men were arrested by detectives outside the post office in Baylough at around midday and a sawn-off shotgun was seized.

Supt Glackin said: “Armed crime in Ireland has increased and no place is safe from people determined to commit crime against financial institutions and carrying arms.”

The superintendent said he hoped the operation would have an effect on lowering crime in the area.

The men, who are in their 20s and 30s, were detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act at Athlone Garda Station.

There have been a number of robberies in the midlands over the last few months, including an armed robbery of a bank in Ballymahon, Co Longford in April.