Security tight as seven charged with attempted robbery

A security cordon ringed Kilmainham in Dublin today for the court appearance of seven men charged with a cash-in-transit robbery attempt on Friday.

Local streets will be sealed off and patrolled by armed gardaí as the suspects are ferried in convoy to the sitting at Kilmainham District Court.

The seven men, who include two well-known criminals, were arrested on Friday morning when undercover gardaí pounced during a cash-in-transit van hold-up in Celbridge, Co Kildare.

The sting involved officers from the ERU, the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the National Surveillance Unit.

The men were held under Section 30 of the Offences Against The State Act at Garda stations in Kildare and Dublin.

The group in custody includes an employee of the security firm which was refilling a cash machine at the Tesco supermarket when the would-be raiders were intercepted.

No shots were fired and none of the cash was stolen during the sting which came after a lengthy Garda intelligence operation.