Gardai were last night looking for an armed gang that hijacked a courier van which is understood to have been delivering cheques and internal mail to banks in south Dublin. The driver of the courier van was found late yesterday afternoon tied to a post on farmland near Kilcock, Co Kildare. Local gardai said it was fortunate the man was discovered, as his life could have been in danger if he had been left much longer in the cold.
The incident started at around 7 a.m. yesterday when a courier service van was overtaken by another van en route from Black rock to Dun Laoghaire. The driver, who is from Tallaght, had been due to make several deliveries to Bank of Ireland branches in south Dublin.
It is understood the other van pulled up in front of him and a number of armed men jumped out and overpowered him. He was taken prisoner in the other van and driven away.
The courier was delivering internal mail and cheque books and as the material was not considered valuable, it is understood it was not initially reported missing by the bank.
It is understood the man's wife telephoned the Garda when he failed to return home just before lunchtime and she could not contact him.
At around 3 p.m. gardai in Lucan were alerted to the discovery of bags containing bank documents near the 12th lock of the Grand Canal between Lucan and Ronanstown. It is understood little or nothing in the van was of value to the hijackers. Cheques that were in the delivery were immediately cancelled and, according to bank sources, are of no value.
A short while later the van used by the hijackers was found abandoned at the back of the County Bar near the Spa Hotel, Lucan. The driver was found a short time later. He was taken to Kilcock Garda Station where he was said to be in good health.
Gardai are concerned that a gang of young robbers based in the west Dublin area has been behind a number of raids and may now be targeting cash and courier deliveries to banks.