ARMED GANG TERROR
FOUR MEN ARRESTED FOLLOWING TERRIFYING ORDEAL IN CLONROCHE
AN armed gang, believed to be hunting for a person known to them, entered a commercial premises on the outskirts of Clonroche and threatened staff before making off in a silver coloured Hyundai.
The terrifying incident happened at 10 a.m. on Thursday and later that day four men were arrested near Naas after their car was intercepted by members of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU).
The four were arrested under Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act, 1939, on suspicion of possession of firearms.
The four are believed to have links with a biker gang well known to the gardai for alleged involvement in criminal activity around the country.
In a follow-up investigation €135,000 cash, in various currencies, two motorcycles, a van and a quantity of cannabis were seized following a search at a house in Crumlin.
The four suspects were later released without charge.
FOUR men were arrested on Thursday following an incident in Clonroche in which staff at a commercial premises were threatened by a gang wielding a hand gun.
The four are believed to have links with a biker gang well known to the gardai for alleged involvement in criminal activity around the country.
A spokesperson for the gardai said the incident in Clonroche occurred at around 10 a.m. when three men entered the premises, located on the outskirts of the village, while one man remained in the car.
It’s understood the gang were searching for a partiuclar person and that when they pulled up the man they were after ran away across fields at the back of the building.
‘ Three of the men in the car entered the premises and threw a few things around and broke a window,’ the garda spokesperson told this newspaper.
‘ They left the scene but returned a short time later and took the CCTV equipment,’ he added. ‘So far no official complaint has been made.’ The matter came to garda attention after a member of the public close to the scene reported it.
The caller to the gardai said one of the gang had a gun in his possession, however, no firearm was recovered during the investigation.
It’s believed the gang and their intended victim are all from Dublin and are known to the gardai.
It’s understood that after entering the Clonroche premises the gang threatened staff members.
However, no shots were fired and nobody was injured during the incident.
Later that same day Roads Policing Units observed the vehicle suspected of being used in the
Clonroche incident, a silver Hyundai, travelling towards Dublin on the M9 motorway.
The car was intercepted a short time later near Naas by members of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) the four occupants were arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearms.
The four arrested are in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, and were detained under Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act, 1939, in garda stations in Wexford and Enniscorthy.
As part of the follow-up investigation detective units from Crumlin and Sundrive Road Garda Stations in Dublin, with assistance from local uniform members, the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, the ERU and the ASU, conducted a search on Friday and Saturday, at a house in the Windmill Road area of Crumlin, Dublin 12.
During the course of that house search an estimated €135,000 in cash, in various currencies and denominations, was seized in addition to a quantity of cannabis (pending analysis), a van, and two motorcycles.