Three held over armed raid
Two men and a woman have been arrested by detectives investigating an armed robbery.
A gun and €40,000 in suspected stolen cash were seized by gardaí probing the raid on the cash-in-transit van at a service station in Walkinstown on Saturday.
Earlier the Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said he was satisfied the people involved in a spate of robberies in recent days were known to gardaí and faced arrest.
The seventh raid was carried out at a Bank of Ireland at Newlands Cross, Clondalkin, this morning.
A Garda spokesman said a number of houses were searched in the south Dublin area this afternoon in relation to Saturday’s robbery.
A woman in her 20s was arrested in Drimnagh, and the firearm and cash recovered.
Two males aged in their 40s and 20s were arrested in another search in Crumlin.
All three can be held for three days under Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act, 1939, at Crumlin and Sundrive Road Garda Stations. Earlier, bank staff and customers were treated for shock after a hold-up by armed robbers in Clondalkin.
Two masked men, one brandishing a firearm, entered the bank and threatened staff, before they fled on foot with less than €5,000.
Personal items belonging to customers were also taken.
A Garda spokeswoman said no one was physically injured during the incident, but a paramedic treated several people at the scene. No one was taken to hospital.
Gardaí in Clondalkin appealed for information on the men, who ran towards Boot Road.
Justice Minister Alan Shatter denied the cut in funding to An Garda Siochana had led to the spate of armed robberies.
“This isn’t an issue relating to money,” he said.
“The Garda Síochána are engaged in smart policing. It’s about how we use technology and how we use garda resources and I’ve the utmost confidence in the operational capacity of the gardaí and the Garda Commissioner.”
Mr Shatter said while there had been a rise in recent days, the overall number of robberies was down by 8% in the last year.
“The Garda Commissioner has assured me there will be developments very shortly in relation to a number of individuals in relation to these events,” he added.
Mr Shatter also announced plans to promote 26 garda officers to the senior ranks.
One assistant commissioner, four chief superintendents and 13 superintendents are due to be appointed in the next 48 hours, with other posts to be filled in the coming weeks.
