Armed raiders escaped with an estimated £250,000 in cash from a bank in Dublin yesterday after gaining entry through a rear window and holding staff at gunpoint.
Two masked men, one carrying a firearm, forced their into the Ballyfermot Road branch of AIB bank shortly after 5 pm. They ordered employees to lie on the floor while they opened a safe located in a backroom.
It was unclear last night whether the robbers fled the scene on foot or in an escape vehicle.
The branch was closed for business at the time of the holdup and no members of the public were present. No shots were fired and no-one was injured in the raid.
Gardai at Ballyfermot were unable to give a detailed description of the raiders, but said both spoke with strong Dublin accents. One detective said that some confusion remained over the exact circumstances of the incident. The robbery follows a number of high-profile raids in Dublin in recent weeks. On November 6th, an armed gang made off with £500,000 in cash from the Continental and American Express foreign exchange bureau on Nassau Street after holding an employee and her family captive for more than 15 hours.
On October 29th, robbers ram-raided the Bank of Ireland Dublin Airport branch, escaping with an estimated £100,000 in various currencies. The raid prompted a major review of security at the airport. Last night, Fine Gael justice spokesman, Mr Jim Higgins, said the spate of armed robberies highlighted the "inadequacy" of the Government's policy on serious crime.