TWO gunmen almost got away with a "substantial amount of money" from the Bank of Ireland in Dublin yesterday, writes Colm Keena. The men were waiting inside the "secured" basement of the bank's headquarters on Lower Baggot Street when a Brinks Mat security truck arrived.
However, the men were spotted after they produced theirs guns, the alarm was raised, and the would be raiders made their escape. The gardai believe the well dressed criminals got to the basement area by walking through the main bank building, using bogus security badges.
When the Brinks Mat truck arrived at the bank just before 11 a.m., it was unable to gain access to the basement vault because it was too tall to drive under an overhead archway, according to the gardai.
The truck entered a ground floor loading bay and security shutters dropped behind it. The money was then loaded onto a trolley for transfer to the basement.
The two men who were inside the secured area then produced a gun, forcing a security man to the ground and handcuffing him. However, another security man spotted them through the shutters and pressed the panic button.
The raiders then fled. They, were able to open the shutter gates by pressing a button.