A MAN has been arrested following an armed raid on a supermarket in north Dublin.
Two men, one armed with what appeared to be a handgun and the other with a hammer, entered SuperValu in Howth Road, Killester, and threatened staff.
The raid occured at 6.20pm yesterday when there was a large number of people in the supermarket.
The men left with a substantial amount of cash and were driven away from the scene by a third man in a red Citroen Saxo.
The raid prompted a major Garda manhunt and the Garda helicopter was pressed into action.
No shots were fired or persons injured during the robbery.
The car was abandoned a short distance away on Gracefield Road in Artane.
After follow-up investigations and searches, a 27-year-old man was arrested in the back garden of a house on Measc Crescent.
He is being detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against The State Act at Clontarf Garda station.
All the money taken in the raid has been recovered.
Anyone who has information to offer regarding this incident is asked to contact gardaí at Clontarf on 01-666 4800.
The supermarket has been targeted in the past. In 2008 a raider was stabbed to death shortly after entering the supermarket armed with a knife.
Paul Howe (23), along with an accomplice, made off with a sum of money after threatening staff with knives. They were chased into the car park and after a scuffle Howe was stabbed to death with his own knife.
The man found guilty of his manslaughter, David Wilson, was sentenced to five years for the stabbing. Howe’s accomplice Joseph Rafferty (30) received an eight-year sentence with four suspended for the same raid. He pleaded guilty to a €2,862 robbery from the supermarket. The court heard that he and Howe both held the knives against two cashiers in the supermarket.
