GARDAÍ ARE appealing to witnesses to the armed robbery of about €120,000 from the crew of a cash-in-transit van which took place outside a shopping centre in north Dublin yesterday.
Two masked men, armed with a shotgun and a crowbar, approached the employees of a G4S cash-in-transit van which was delivering money to an Ulster Bank ATM outside Donaghmede Shopping Centre at 10.15 am yesterday.
The men, who were wearing black balaclavas, grappled with the security personnel and stole four cash boxes containing about €120,000.
They then made off in a black 07 C registration 4x4 vehicle in the direction of Clare Hall in Coolock.
The four boxes, or cash cassettes, were later found under a vehicle at Clonrosse Drive in Coolock.
On opening the boxes the thieves set off the in-built security mechanism in at least one of the cassettes, meaning that some of the money and one or both of the culprits may have been sprayed with dye.
The 07 registration vehicle was later found abandoned on a footpath at Howth View Park in Donaghmede.
It was not burned out. The registration plates on the vehicle were false.
The 4x4 was later confirmed to have been stolen in December.
One of the culprits was wearing a baseball cap under a hooded navy blue jacket, blue jeans and black gloves and was 5ft 6in and of slim build.
The second man wore a black bomber jacket and blue jeans, was about 5ft 10in height and of stocky build.
Gardaí carried out forensic examinations at the scene of the robbery yesterday before taking the security vehicle away for further examination shortly after lunchtime yesterday.
Forensic examinations, including fingerprinting, were also carried out at the ATM booth located outside the Donaghmede Inn bar, which was closed to the public at the time the robbery took place.
Gardaí also examined CCTV footage from cameras located at the ATM booth and video images captured on security cameras belonging to other businesses in the vicinity.
The van was parked less than two feet away from the entrance to the door of the ATM booth when the incident happened and within yards of the entrance to the shopping centre and a range of other businesses.
However, employees who work in businesses close to the scene said they were not made aware of the robbery until gardaí cordoned off the area following the armed robbery.
An employee of G4S Cash Solutions who was present at the scene said the company “was delighted that the crew of the van are unhurt. That is the most important thing for us; that the crew are uninjured”.
The company later released a statement which said: “A cash-in-transit crew was attacked while servicing an ATM in Donaghmede earlier today.
“Our key concern is for the safety and wellbeing of those directly involved in this incident.
“The company is committed to maintaining the security of its employees and members of the public, and continues to work closely with the gardai, trade unions, the Government and other relevant agencies to develop initiatives to prevent attacks against those working in the cash-in-transit industry.”
The cash-in-transit robbery follows a number of similar incidents which have been carried out since the beginning of the year.
On January 11th two raiders armed with sawn-off shotguns stole €100,000 when they raided a security van which was making a delivery to a filling station near Carrigaline in Co Cork.
A similar robbery was reported in Finglas, Co Dublin, the same day. A day previously another cash-in-transit van was robbed at gunpoint at Drogheda Industrial Estate in Co Louth involving four men.
Gardaí are appealing for witness to yesterday’s robbery to contact them on 01 6664200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.