A private courier truck was robbed by an armed gang near the Kerry border with Limerick and Cork at around 6 a.m. yesterday morning. The driver in his fifties was tied up in the truck.
Two-and-a-half hours later he managed to free himself and contacted gardaí with the help of a woman passer-by.
The Securicor Omega Express truck was going to Tralee from Dublin when it was held up at the Feale Bridge area on the Kerry side of Abbeyfeale.
A Volvo car used in the hold-up was found burned out later. Gardaí did not know if it was stolen.
Up to six men and a number of vehicles lay in wait near the bridge, with a car across the road to block the courier truck.
The truck's trailer contained "a huge volume of parcels - up to 800", gardaí said, although not all of them were taken. The truck was not carrying cash or cigarettes. Gardaí have been trying to work out what the gang was looking for.
"We are working closely with the company to discover what exactly was taken," said Supt Frank O'Brien of Listowel.
Earlier reports that a number of shots were fired were discounted. "But the gang was armed," Supt O'Brien said, and gardaí were not ruling out subversive activity.
A blanket was put over the driver's head during the raid. He was taken in the Volvo to a remote area, put into the truck, driven near a forest and left tied up.