Gardai are investigating a weekend raid at Dublin Airport in which a thief posing as a haulier drove off with nearly £300,000 worth of computer equipment. The man was given clearance to load the cargo on to a lorry after he had produced bogus documents for staff at the handling agent for the goods, Servisair, on Saturday.
Senior Servisair managers are to fly to Ireland from Britain today to assist with the Garda investigation and to make their own inquiries about the incident.
The computer parts, which had been flown in from Taiwan via Amsterdam on Friday, were destined for a Dublin computer company, ATI Technology, which is shortly to move from the Airways Industrial Estate to a new base at Swords.
The thief, acting alone, is understood to have produced documents suggesting he was working for a reputable Irish haulage contractor.
After convincing Servisair staff he was a representative of the haulage company, he was given a release form that allowed him to load the goods and take them away.
It is understood the thief had detailed information on the consignment in question, including the number of boxes and the relevant weights.
Servisair staff in Dublin declined to discuss the incident yesterday, but a spokesman in Britain said the company would co-operate fully with the Garda inquiry, which is being carried out by detectives at Santry station.
"We have senior management going across from the UK to help as well. They'll be there in the morning," he added.
An industry source said the stolen consignment was worth an estimated $400,000, or about £285,000.
He added that the detailed information about the consignment in the raider's possession suggested he had inside information.
However, the large number of companies with access to this information while the consignment was being transported here would make it difficult for the authorities to pinpoint the source of the leak, he said.
