Two men in their 20s were arrested in connection with an armed robbery in Dublin early yesterday following a high-speed chase across the northern part of the city.
At around 4.40am a man, believed to be a publican, arrived at his home in Castleknock where he was confronted by two men. One was armed with a sawn-off shotgun, and the pair made off with a large quantity of cash, thought to be the St Patrick's Day takings from the pub. They fled the scene in a Volkswagen Passat car.
The victim of the robbery alerted gardaí and a short time later a squad car crew spotted the getaway car. They pursued the suspects at high speed with overhead assistance coming from a Garda helicopter.
At around 5am the thieves' car was stopped at Bay Lane, Kilshane, just north of Finglas. Two men were arrested at the scene and taken to Blanchardstown Garda station where they were detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act. A large quantity of cash was also recovered.
It is believed that detectives are also retracing the route of the chase, looking for any weapons that may have been discarded as the suspects attempted to make their escape.
The arrested men both have Dublin addresses and are in their mid-20s. They can be detained for questioning for a maximum of 72 hours. No shots were fired and nobody was injured.