Superintendent: Warren had role in attempted raid on cash-in-transit van

The trial of a man for an attempted raid on a cash-in-transit van has said heard evidence from a Garda Superintendent that the accused “played a role” in the gang that had planned it.

Superintendent: Warren had role in attempted raid on cash-in-transit van

The trial of a man for an attempted raid on a cash-in-transit van has said heard evidence from a Garda Superintendent that the accused “played a role” in the gang that had planned it.

Detective Superintendent Dominic Hayes, who led the investigation into the Cellbridge raid in November 2007, told Ciaran O’Loughlin SC, defending, that Joseph Warren had a “role” in the gang but may not have had the expertise of others involved in it.

Det Sup Hayes agreed that the late Eamonn Dunne, who was one of five other men arrested that day, was regularly stopped by gardaí prior to the raid and considered “a significant player in the criminal underworld”.

He did not accept a suggestion from counsel that Dunne was the leader of this gang.

“That would not be an exact summation on my behalf that Dunne would be head of this gang,” Det Supt Hayes said.

“One of the things this gang was involved in was cash-in-transit robberies and there would have been others in the gang who had more expertise in this than Dunne.”

Mr Warren (aged 30) of Belclare Crescent, Ballymun, has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to conspiring to steal cash from Chubb Ireland at Tesco supermarket on the Shackleton Road in Celbridge on November 2, 2007.

Det Supt Hayes accepted a suggestion from Mr O’Loughlin that the “attitude” in Dunne’s interview room and Mr Warren’s interview room was different in that while Mr Warren seemed polite, Dunne appeared more “truculent and abusive”.

“Yes that would be par for the course for someone considered a significant player and a criminal of that stature,” the witness replied.

Det Supt Hayes agreed that gardaí suggested to Mr Warren that he was under threat but said this was one of a few different scenarios put to the accused during questioning.

“There was no evidence of any threat and if there had been it would have been investigated,” the witness said.

He did not accept that the “garda view” was that Mr Warren had been “put out in front by Bradley” on the day of the raid.

“There was no evidence of that. It was just a scenario put to him,” Det Supt Hayes said.

“In these gangs there would be different roles and it would be interesting for us to understand the pecking order and structure of these gangs,” the witness said as an explanation for the line of questioning of Mr Warren.

He agreed that questions put to Dunne during interview such as: “You as the boss, would have to have a nickname”; “How did you pick your staff?”; “What instructions were the lads under?”; “Were you to get the biggest cut because you were running the show?” suggested that gardaí believed “he was calling the shots”.

“Yes, but the interviewers were just trying to get a reaction to any kind of questions, similar questions would have been asked of others,” Det Supt Hayes said.

“That’s a line of questioning these particular interviewers were taking. There was no evidence that Dunne was in total charge of the operation,” he continued.

Det Supt Hayes agreed that gardaí expected this to be an armed robbery and that a toy gun was found in one of the four vehicles at Cellbridge.

“I am satisfied there were other people at the scene who were in possession of firearms who were not apprehended on the day,” Det Supt Hayes told Mr O’Loughlin.

He agreed that gardaí were satisfied it was Mr Warren’s function to open the van with the consaw.

Det Supt Hayes further agreed that gardaí believed Dunne was involved in drug-dealing and a book found in his possession was put to him during garda interview as a list of names of people who owed him money for drugs.

In response to a question from Deirdre Murphy SC, prosecuting, as to when Dunne became “a media star” in terms of Dublin criminality, Det Supt Hayes replied that it wasn’t until late 2008 or early 2009 when he was linked to different crimes in the city.

The prosecution case has now closed and the trial continues before Judge Patrick McCartan and jury.

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