Locals 'shocked' as criminal gang thwarted in Virginia raid
A Virginia man spoke of his shock at witnessing gardaí as they swooped on a criminal gang preparing to smash the front of the Riverfront Hotel in the early hours of Wednesday morning in a botched smash and grab ATM raid, writes Thomas Lyons.
Eddie Matthews had just finished cleaning up in his bar and was watching television when he heard a loud bang.“It all kicked off just after 2:30am. I thought it was kids celebrating their Leaving Cert results returning on the bus having been out in Cavan Town. It was just a lot of shouting so I came out,” the bar owner said.
Eddie described the Garda presence at the scene as being organised: “They must have known about it in advance, they would haven't been there otherwise.”
As of now gardaí have three people in custody in connection with the foiled ATM raid. The investigation now focuses on a fourth individual, who gardaí say they will apprehend “in the coming days”, with speculation suggesting he is still in the Cavan area.
On Wednesday evening Bailieborough Superintendent Gordon Englishby recounted how, at 2:30am, gardaí attached to Cavan Monaghan Garda Division foiled the attempt to raid at Main St, Virginia. The local gardaí were supported by a unit from National Garda Support Unit at Harcourt Square.
A 28-year-old male was arrested at the scene. He is currently being detained at Carrickmacross Garda Station. A second 25-year-old male was arrested that afternoon following the search in the Virginia area. He is currently being detained at Bailieborough Garda station. The scene at Virginia is being examined by the local Scene of Crime investigation unit.
A subsequent co-ordinated search at Moynalty, Co Meath, resulted in the arrest of a 61-year-old male, the seizing of over €300,000 in cash and a number of vehicles described by the Superintendent as “suspicious”.
The three men are being detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, meaning they can be held for up to seven days before being charged or gardaí can apply for an extension of time.
“This remains a live investigation. It is anticipated that there will be a number of further investigative actions taken in the not too distant future,” Superintendent Englishby said.
The Superintendent said this is a major breakthrough and that it's highly likely it's linked to other ATM raids that happened in the North East in the last number of months.
Stormed the Riverfront
The capture of the second man in Virginia in the middle of the day was observed by many people in the town. Following a manhunt involving helicopters and sniffer dogs officers, stormed into the Riverfront Hotel at 2.14pm to capture the fleeing raider.
Eye witnesses described the scene as a number of armed officers barged into the toilets of the town centre hostelry. “It was a shock for everyone when you see 15 gardaí coming in the door,” Caroline McGovern, the hotel manager described.
“No one knew what was going on. They just come in both doors and headed for the toilets,” the hotel manager said.
“I was told that he (the raider) was in a garden across the road and came out and ran into the toilets. I don't think he was in there that long, because we had customers in there. It all happened so fast,” Caroline told the Celt.
A man in the toilets at the time when the raid took place spoke of his encounter: “I'm not the better of it,” he said. “There was one person in a cubicle. I was on the way out of the toilet. I didn't see him but I got an awful fright. About six or seven guards came running in with guns pulled,” the man who did not want to be named told the Celt.
Garda believe that the €300,000 recovered in Moynalty is the proceeds of previous ATM raid, particularly the double theft of ATMs from Kells earlier this year.
The incident room has been established in Bailieborough Garda Station. The Gardaí are asking any motorists who may have dash cam footage who were travelling on the Virginia -Bailieborough Road between 1.00amd and 3.00am to contact them on 042-9694570 or the Garda Confidential Line.