A gang of armed robbers, believed to be based in the Finglas area of north Dublin, are suspected of carrying out yesterday's robbery of a caterer returning with his day's takings from the Slane Castle rock festival.
The gang was waiting in the man's home in Old Finglas Road when he returned with a large amount of cash from his catering business.
The robbers, armed with shotguns and handguns, forced the man to hand over the takings and escaped in a silver Astra car at around 2.20 a.m. yesterday. The car was later found in Finglas West.
Gardaí believe the gang, who are suspected of carrying out a number of robberies over the past two years, had been watching the man and were aware he would be returning from the festival with a large amount of cash. The amount was not disclosed, but is believed to be well into tens of thousands of euros.
Two gangs believed to be based in Finglas and Blanchardstown are thought to be responsible for a series of raids in north and west Dublin over the past two years.
Yesterday morning's raid bears similarities to a raid on July 13th last, when staff of the Autobahn public house were held up in the early hours by four armed men who forced them to hand over takings. An estimated €30,000 was stolen.
The gangs, operating in a similar fashion to two other gangs based in the south-west of Dublin, have particularly targeted security vans delivering cash to ATMs around the city.
The cash deliveries are regarded as easy targets because the security vans are rarely accompanied by escorts and carry large amounts of cash. One of the Dublin gangs escaped with €420,000 after holding up a Securicor van delivering cash to ATMs at the Omnipark Centre in Santry on August 7th last.
In July, robbers escaped with €180,000 after holding up security men delivering cash to the ATM in St James's Hospital. And two men, wielding sawn-off shotguns, escaped with €200,000 from another ATM at the Clontarf branch of the Bank of Ireland on May 12th last.
There has been a marked increase in armed robberies on banks and security vans in Dublin and surrounding counties over the past two years. One security firm alone has suffered over 30 robberies.
Gardaí believe the gangs are a mix of experienced armed robbers and younger criminals graduating from petty to serious crime.