Members of the Garda and Army were in place this morning to escort the Brinks Allied security van which was robbed of more than €2.5 million, it emerged this afternoon.
But the van was raided at a petrol station between the Brinks depot in Coolock and the designated meeting point with the security forces in Dublin's city centre.
In a statement gardaí said the vehicle was not scheduled to be under escort from the depot or at the time of the robbery. "As per standing arrangements, the security vehichle was due to rendezvous later with a Garda/Army escort at a location in the city centre," the statement said. "The Garda/Army escort was in place at the agreed location and awaiting the arrival of the security vehicle."
Secretary of the security services branch of Siptu, Kevin McMahon pointed out that an escort "was not at the Clonshaugh base when that crew left."
The van had stopped at a Maxol garage near the Artane roundabout in Coolock at 7.30am when one of its passengers was approached by a single gunman and forced back into the vehicle.
The van's occupants were then made to drive the vehicle at gunpoint to the nearby Killester sports grounds where a number of armed raiders in a white transit van and a blue 4X4 were waiting to carry out the robbery.
Gardaí said they are looking for information on the 4X4, which had bullbars and the white transit van, which had a false registration plate "97 OY" and four digits.
No shots were fired and no one was injured. It is the second substantial security van robbery in north Dublin in just over two weeks.
The Minister for Justice Michael McDowell blamed the robbery on a "procedural lapse" after it was claimed that the security van had pulled into the garage to purchase coffee and that the garage was a regular stop-off point for drivers.
"The indications are that the vehicle, which had a large sum of money in it, went into a service station for a purpose which is nothing to do with the delivery or receipt of money," Mr McDowell said.
"One of the staff got out of the vehicle at that point and I understand was purchasing coffee. The raid took place at that point. That is just unacceptable in this day and age."
In a statement shortly after the raid, the Department of Justice said: "While it is extremely early in the investigation, the Minister feels that the security industry has let down the wider community through an apparent procedural lapse which has enabled criminals to realise a significant amount of money."
"The Minister is calling in representatives of the industry for talks in the next 24 hours and if the industry does not respond with concrete proposals he will not shrink from asking the newly established Private Security Authority to exercise their powers under the Private Security Industry Act 2004."
The PSA, which will control and regulate the security industry, was unveiled by Mr McDowell last October. There are 400 companies and 20,000 full-time and part-time staff in the sector, which generates around €250 million annually.
The authority will supervise individuals and firms providing private security and investigate and adjudicate on any complaints made against them.
Earlier this month a gang took more than €2 million from a Securicor van, following the seizure and abduction of a family in Raheny on the north side of the city. At the time, the raid was one of the biggest in the history of the State and forced security companies into a major review of their operations.
The four-man gang gained access to the home of the Richardson family at Ashcroft, Raheny, at about 10pm on Sunday, March 13th.
Ms Marie Richardson, a supervisor for Marks & Spencer in Mary Street, Dublin, was taken from the house in a van or SUV by the gang along with their two sons, Ian (17) and Kevin (13). The three were held in Cloon Wood near Stepaside until early morning before being released.
Securicor employee Mr Paul Richardson was detained in his home overnight. He was forced to go to work at Securicor's Rialto depot and told to leave the depot with his two colleagues in a cash-in-transit van as normal.
The van was driven to the Angler's Rest pub at Strawberry Beds, Co Dublin, where the gang took just over €2 million from the vehicle. Mr Richardson and his two colleagues were then ordered to drive towards Galway in the empty van.