Two more arrests over 'tiger raid'

Two people have been arrested this morning in Co Meath in connection with a raid in which a bank official's wife was abducted…

Two people have been arrested this morning in Co Meath in connection with a raid in which a bank official's wife was abducted and a quantity of cash stolen from an AIB branch in Clondalkin earlier this month.

A man and a woman, who are both aged in their late 20's, were arrested at about 7am in Navan. They are being held at Terenure Garda station under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007.

The so-called "tiger kidnapping" happened at about 11pm on September 1st, when three masked men, at least one of whom was armed with a sawn-off shotgun, broke into the home of an AIB bank manager at Domville Drive, Templeogue, south Dublin.

The men took the bank official's wife from her home while her husband was ordered to carry out the theft at the Clondalkin village branch. The cash was dropped off at an arranged site before the man's wife was freed hours later near a quarry in rural Wicklow.

The raiders held the bank manager and his wife hostage in their home until around 7.30am on September 2nd, when the woman was taken by the gang from the house in a black 10 D registered VW Golf.

Her husband was instructed by the gang to go to work at the AIB Clondalkin branch in west Dublin as normal. He was then given further instructions by phone later in the morning and told to bring a bag of money to a drop-off point at Cherrywood, close to the bank branch.

He drove his 08 black Nissan Qashqai to the drop-off point, leaving it unlocked with the money inside.

A gang member then arrived at 10.30am and took the car with the bag containing just under €300,000. At 12.45pm the bank manager's wife was released unharmed at Ballybrew Quarry in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.

AIB officials had contacted gardaí while the robbery was still under way. Although a rapid response operation was put in place, the gang evaded gardaí.

Gardaí have appealed for information from anyone in Clondalkin who may have seen two vehicles - a black 10-D registration Volkswagen Golf and a black Nissan Qashqai with a 08-D registration - that may have been used by the gang.

A number of people have been arrested in connection with the incident over the past few weeks.