Tiger raid accused told 'cock and bull story', trial hears
A man arrested as part of an investigation into a €2.28m "tiger kidnapping" told gardaí a “cock and bull story” about a black notebook found during a search of his home, a trial has heard.
The trial of two men accused of taking part in the 2005 Securicor van raid was told that in April 2005, gardaí investigating the robbery carried out a search of a house in Abbeyvale Court, Swords where Alan Drumgoole was living.
A black diary found under Mr Drumgoole’s bed during the search contained “entries involving very very large sums of money that appeared to be paid to various people,” Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.
The entries included sums of €2,500, €28,000 and €116,500 along with names of people paid or owing money.
Mr Drumgoole told the jury today that the diary belonged to one of the men on trial, David Byrne of Old Brazeel Way, Knocksedan, Swords.
Byrne (aged 39) and his co-accused Niall Byrne (aged 29), of Crumlin Road Flats, Crumlin Road, Dublin have both pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning the Richardson family at Ashcroft, Raheny on March 13 and 14, 2005 and to robbing Paul Richardson and Securicor of €2,280,000 on the same date.
They are both alleged to have been members of a gang that held Mr Richardson, a Securicor worker, and his family hostage as part of the raid in March 2005.
Mr Drumgoole told Mr Patrick Marrinan SC, defending David Byrne, that he lied to gardaí when he told them the diary belonged to a previous tenant of the house.
Mr Marrinan said: “You pointed the finger at someone who was completely innocent. You invented a cock and bull story about this man calling to your house and leaving the diary downstairs.”
“You were happy to implicate an innocent man in order to explain away the presence of incriminating evidence found at your home in rather the same way as you pointed the finger at my client and you now say it was him.”
Mr Drumgoole agreed but added “It was him that gave me the notebook”.
The court heard that the witness was arrested in connection with the Securicor robbery but Mr Drumgoole told the court that he had nothing to do with the crime.
The trial continues before Judge Patrick McCartan and a jury of seven men and five women.
