Gardai are looking for an armed gang which stole a 40 ft container of cigarettes, worth about £1 million, off a freight train at Dunleer, Co Louth, yesterday.
The well-planned robbery involved up to eight men including one who ordered the train driver at gunpoint to drive on to Dublin after the raid.
Four men were held hostage throughout the robbery which one garda said went "like clockwork".
The elaborate plan went into operation yesterday morning after a crane was hired by a man claiming to be from a Belfast company from the Dublin-based Crane Hire Ltd.
The crane and its operator arrived at the bus station in Drogheda at about 11 a.m. when the operator was forced to bring the crane to the disused railway station in Dunleer.
The gang took an Irish Rail linesman hostage and ordered him to hand over detonators. Two of them were placed on the line and they detonated when the train went over them. The train slowed down. Another gang member then boarded the train.
He put a gun to the head of the driver and a security guard and told them not to move the train.
In a matter of minutes the gang had removed the container which contained nearly 6 million cigarettes and placed it on to an articulated truck with the use of the crane. They then left with the truck and container. One of the raiders remained in the driver's cab and told the driver to drive to Portmarnock in north Co Dublin.
The driver, linesman, crane operator and security guard were tied up and the gang member made his escape. The staff then managed to free themselves.
Gardai did not arrive at Dun leer train station until about 90 minutes after the gang had left.
The container was recovered last night near Rathkenny, Slane, Co Meath. It was practically empty.
Last night Supt Fergus Doggett of Drogheda Garda station, who is leading the investigation, said gardai would like to hear from anyone who may have seen a truck containing the dark brown container in the Dunleer area after 2.30 p.m.
Drogheda gardai can be contacted at 041983 8777.