GARDA ADRIAN KILLER ‘BEHIND ATM RAIDS’

A GANG led by one of the suspected killers of Garda Adrian Donohoe is behind a double ATM robbery in Co. Meath, gardaí believe.

A string of ATM robberies took place across the country in the early hours of yesterday morning, as another two were stolen in Co. Antrim, and a botched attempt was also made in Co. Armagh.

The gang who targeted the ATM machines in Kells, Co. Meath, had scattered spikes outside the town’s Garda station in a bid to slow down the response to the crime.

However, the marked Garda patrol car that responded to the crime from Kells Garda Station spotted the spikes and removed them from the road outside the station at around 4am yesterday.

The gang used a digger to rip the cash machine from the wall of an AIB in the town shortly after 4am, and also removed the ATM from the wall outside the Bank of Ireland – all in the space of just minutes. It is believed that as much as €200,000 was taken.

Suspects in Garda Donohoe’s murder are also under investigation in relation to a spate of ATM raids in border counties earlier this year.

The cash machines were driven away on the back of a dark-coloured crew cab SUV, which left in the direction of Carnalstown. Kells Superintendent Dermot O’Connor said the alarm was raised at 4.20am and that gardaí were at the scene ‘within minutes’.

A senior security source said that CCTV showed the gardaí arrived ‘25 seconds’ after the gang fled.

Supt. O’Connor confirmed a device with spikes was placed outside Kells Garda Station, just 500 metres from the scene of the crime, but added that this device did not delay the Garda response.

The thieves also left behind a digger, a tractor and a low loader, which blocked Main Street in the town.

It took four minutes to rip the ATMs from the walls of both the Bank of Ireland and the AIB on John Street.

The two buildings, which are just metres apart, were badly damaged.

The young crime boss suspected of being behind the raids divides his time between Louth and Armagh, and is the leader of a serious organised gang which has members in Co. Meath.

A senior source said there were three gangs behind the string of such robberies – 11 in the North and five in the south – since the beginning of the year. A well-placed source said ‘all have dissident links’.

The source added: ‘None of these many ATM thefts on both sides of the border happened without IRA approval, and in all incidents, they had to pay over cash to the dissidents. It’s believed to be about €20,000 per robbery. Many of the gangs have dissident links anyway. But this isn’t about so-called freedom fighters raising money for the cause. It’s simple criminality.’

Supt. O’Connor yesterday appealed for witnesses, particularly anyone who was in the Kells area between 3.30am and 4.30am yesterday.

Detectives also want to speak to anyone who was travelling on the N52 between Ardee and Kells and who noticed any heavy plant machinery on the move to come forward.

Separately, a double ATM was stolen in Crumlin, Co. Antrim, overnight, and there was a botched attempt to steal a cash machine in Craigavon, Co. Armagh.

The latest thefts bring to 15 the number of cash machines stolen on both sides of the border in recent months.

Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan has been briefed by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on the latest raids.

In a statement, Mr Flanagan said: ‘He briefed me this morning and assured me that An Garda Síochána are following every lead in their pursuit of those involved. They continue to work closely with their PSNI colleagues to target crime gangs in both jurisdictions.’

Scattered spikes to thwart gardaí ‘All had IRA approval’