Raiders target UL bank
Almost €10,000 was stolen by armed raiders who threatened staff at a University bank today.
Two armed and masked men entered the Aillied Irish Bank at the University of Limerick in Castletroy at 10.40am this morning and threatened staff before demanding cash.
It's understood the raiders got €9,000 in cash before fleeing on foot.
No-one was injured in the robbery and gardaí have appealed for anyone who was in the vicinity of the bank to contact them.
Investigating officers are not not ruling out a link between today's armed robbery at the AIB branch in UL and two other bankd robberies in the same area over the last month.
Initial indications are that a local based gang, possibly of Eastern European origin, were involved in all three robberies.
Gardaí would not comment today on the origin of the raiders but admitted that there are similarities in the modus operandi used in all three raids.
Two weeks ago a lone raider entered the Castletroy branch of the Ulster Bank and stole €1,500 at gunpoint before fleeing on foot.
Four weeks earlier another raider also stole a similar amount from the same branch and on that occasion made his get away on a bicycle.
Local reports indicate that the raiders in all three robberies spoke with strong Eastern European accents but gardaí last night said they were not in a position to confirm this
The raiders involved in this morning's robbery made their getaway on foot, which suggests that they are more than likely living in the area.
