AN ARMED raid on a security van in Athlone led to a 60km (37 mile) high-speed pursuit and ended with the apprehension of a man yesterday.
Armed with what is believed to have been a handgun, the lone raider stole an estimated €50,000 from a cash-in-transit employee outside a post office in Irishtown, Athlone, shortly before lunchtime.
Nobody was injured in the robbery and the raider escaped in a van, fleeing at high speed towards Dublin. Gardaí pursued the van for almost 60km before making an arrest on the outskirts of Kinnegad.
A Garda spokesman said: “Gardaí arrested a male in his mid-40s in relation to a post office robbery which occurred at approximately 12.30pm in Irishtown, Athlone.
“A lone man believed to have been armed with a firearm threatened a man outside a security van and took an undisclosed amount of cash.
“He left the scene in a van in the direction of Dublin. Gardaí stopped the vehicle on the N4 two miles from Kinnegad on the Dublin side.”
The man was arrested and is being detained under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act in Athlone Garda station. He can be detained for up to 72 hours.
Supt Aidan Glacken said one patrol car was damaged during the high-speed chase as the man attempted to evade arrest.
“Money and a firearm have been recovered. Some money was recovered at the time of arrest and, in subsequent searches along the route, a firearm and more money was recovered,” he explained.
Supt Glacken was unable to specify exactly how much cash had been stolen in the raid.
Insp Kieran Keyes said in Mullingar that the newly-formed eastern region Garda Regional Support Unit was deployed during the operation to apprehend the thief.
One of three such units in the country, the 24-member armed rapid response unit was launched in Mullingar on August 28th last to combat armed and dangerous criminals.
Members of the rapid response unit are armed with Sig 9mm pistols and Heckler and Koch submachine guns. They also carry taser guns and pepper spray. Two similar units are based in Cork and Limerick. Insp Keyes said the unit had been deployed in the operation. However, he was unable to say if this had been the first deployment of the specialised unit in the eastern region.
Meanwhile, gardaí in Co Offaly were conducting a related search at a house in Clara.
Insp Joe Prendergast of the Tullamore gardaí said a house was being searched as part of a follow-up investigation into the Athlone raid.