Five men pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin yesterday to an attempted robbery in Co Wicklow last May during which a sixth raider was shot dead by gardai.
Ronan McLoughlin (28), from Ballymun, Dublin, died when gardai opened fire on a gang of raiders attempting to rob a security van near Ashford.
The five are Pascal Burke (34), of Marrowbone Lane, Stephen Carney (23), of Dolphin House, Saoirse Breathnach (24), of Cypress Court, Ballybrack, Philip Forsythe (25), of Rollins Villas, Sallynoggin and Danny McAllister (43), a native of Belfast, with an address at Cromlech Fields, Ballybrack.
All five pleaded guilty to having an AKM Kalashnikov assault rifle, a Mossberg 12 gauge pump action shotgun and a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver with intent to commit a robbery at Cullenmore, Ashford, Co Wicklow on May 1st.
The five also admitted having 18 shotgun cartridges, six rounds of .357 Magnum ammunition and 28 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition with intent to commit a robbery and assaulting Mr Aidan Mc Gauran with intent to rob him.
Det Chief Supt Sean Camon told prosecuting counsel Mr Eamonn Leahy SC that the five were members of a gang who posed as county council workmen before blocking the main N11 road with a van and car and attempting to rob a Securicor van carrying more than £250,000 back to Dublin.
The gang was armed with an assault rifle, a pump action shotgun and revolver and one raider also had an imitation rocket launcher and another had an angle grinder for cutting through metal.
Four of the raiders approached the Securicor van after blocking the road with a van. One tried to use the angle grinder to cut open the van while another used a lump hammer to smash the windows.
One of the two security men left the van and was made to lie on the roadway.
Gardai from the Emergency Response Unit and the National Surveillance Unit arrived on the scene almost immediately and confronted the raiders. One of the raiders hijacked a private car and levelled a gun at the gardai, who fired shots, fatally wounding the raider.
Det Supt Camon said none of the raiders' weapons was fired during the incident.
He said Breathnach was armed with the AKM rifle, Carney with the pump action shotgun, Mc Allister had the angle grinder, Forsythe had the imitation rocket launcher and the raider who was shot dead was armed with the .357 Magnum revolver.
The sixth raider, Burke, was arrested over a mile from the scene of the attempted robbery where he was waiting with a stolen van, radio scanners and mobile phones.
Det Supt Camon said the raiders had planned to cut a small hole in the security van and to pour petrol in to frighten the security men out.
Carney had pointed the pump action shotgun at gardai and had shouted a warning to the other raiders before trying to escape in one of the gang's vehicles.
He was arrested after colliding with two Garda cars. McAllister and Forsythe tried to hide in hedgerows but were surrounded and arrested.
Breathnach tried to hijack a car and was arrested after a violent struggle.
"This was an armed robbery which bore all the hallmarks of a paramilitary-style operation," Det Supt Camon said.
He added that Breathnach and Forsythe had no previous convictions, Burke had been convicted at the Special Criminal Court in June, 1989 for possession of explosives and jailed for six years, Carney had five previous convictions and McAllister had five previous convictions.
The five men were remanded in custody for sentencing today.