Security company Securicor has defended its procedures in the wake of yesterday's €2 million robbery which detectives believe could have been carried out by a north Dublin gang.
The Garda today issued an appeal for information on the robbery in which a family was abducted before €2 million was stolen from a security van in Dublin yesterday morning.
They are looking for witnesses to any suspicious behaviour in the Ashcroft housing estate, Raheny, after 8pm on Sunday; in Glencree Wood, Co Wicklow; and on the Enniskerry Road on Sunday night or yesterday morning.
They are also looking for information on suspicious activity in the Strawberry Beds area of Lucan from 7am yesterday or on the Mullingar-to-Kinnegad Road yesterday morning.
The gang took Mrs Marie Richardson and her two teenage sons from their Raheny home to woods in south Co Dublin and tied them up on Sunday night.
They then forced her husband, Paul, who works for Securicor, to go to work the following morning, collect a cash delivery and drive to Strawberry Beds in west Dublin where the cash was taken.
Mr Richardson and two colleagues were then told to drive west before stopping near Mullingar, Co Westmeath.
Securicor Ireland released a statement through a public relations firm this evening amid concern over the growing trend in security van and ATM robberies.
"The company is doing everything it can to provide support for the family and for the other members of Securicor staff who were involved in yesterday's incident," the statement said.
"Securicor is actively assisting the gardai in their investigations [and] is fully committed to maintaining the safety of its staff and the public."
It said it keeps its systems under constant review to minimise risks. "We also maintain close liaison with the gardai, customers and key security advisers to develop initiatives designed to enhance the protection of staff and the public and safeguarding of valuables in transit."
Representatives from Securicor, Brinks Allied and other operators are expected to meet senior gardaí to review security and other procedures surrounding the transportation of money.
One industry insider said robberies of security vans abated in the second half of last year after the establishment of the Garda's Operation Delivery investigation, aimed at targeting the Finglas gang and other criminals.
However, the same source said the raids had resumed this year with about 15 robberies or attempted robberies so far in 2005.
Garda sources believe the robbery was carried out by a Finglas-based criminal gang, although they have not rule out paramilitary involvement. While seizing the Raheny family some of the gang members briefly took their masks off and as a result may eventually be identified.
The gang believed to have been responsible for the latest robbery is led by two brothers from Finglas. Along with a small number of associates last year, they carried out a series of gun-point robberies as cash was being delivered to ATMs in Dublin and surrounding counties.
About €2 million was taken, none of which has been recovered.