Prison officers call for review over van-ambush fears

Prison officers are calling for a review after two leading gangland figures were found travelling behind a prison van in Ballyfermot in Dublin last night.

There were two staff members in the empty prison van which was driving through Ballyfermot back to Cloverhill Prison at 7.30pm when gardaí spotted two Limerick gangland figures travelling behind it.

One of the suspects is believed to be the leader of one of Limerick's feuding criminal gangs and the second an associate and former inmate.

The two men were brought to a nearby garda station for a drugs search. Nothing illegal was found and they were released.

The Prison Officers Association is demanding a full review of what happened and wants security measures increased, fearing that vans carrying inmates could be ambushed.