Gardaí have arrested three men and are searching for a fourth after a high-speed pursuit late last night on the M50 and M1 motorways.
The chase involved up to Garda 20 patrol cars while the Garda helicopter was also deployed.
While the pursuit began in Dublin it continued through Meath and into Louth, finally coming to a halt on the M1 not far from the border.
Gardaí believe the men in this car were involved in burglaries in Dublin around the time they were spotted by members of the force based in Tallaght. When those gardaí began to observe the suspects in their vehicle in Tallaght, the men then tried to escape up the M50.
From that point more Garda reinforcements were called in until a large-scale pursuit was underway that continued the length of the M50 and onto the M1 as far as Dundalk.
The car the men were in had been stolen in the North and property from a burglary in Blackrock, south Dublin, was found late last night having been thrown out of the suspects' car during the chase.
Gardaí believe the men, at least two of them teenagers, were effectively on a burglary spree in their stolen car when officers in a patrol car became suspicious of them and the pursuit began.
While the men tried to run after their car was brought to a stop north east of Dundalk on the M1, three were arrested while a fourth fled across fields. “Gardaí in Dundalk have arrested three individuals in connection with burglaries carried out in the Blackrock, area of Co Dublin which occurred on January 30th,” gardaí said in a statement.
The statement added the men were first spotted acting in a suspicious manner in Tallaght. “Following reports of a number of burglaries in the Blackrock area, gardaí on night patrols, with the assistance of the Air Support Unit monitored traffic and carried out patrols of the area,” the statement continued.
“Gardaí observed this vehicle again on the M50 at Junction 13 and a managed Garda pursuit ensued.
“Four occupants abandoned the offending vehicle on the M1 at junction 18 and fled on foot towards fields nearby.”
One of the three arrested males is in his 20s and two are in their late teens. They were being held under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, which can be used to question suspected gang members for up to seven days without charge.
Garda Headquarters confirmed the search for the fourth suspect who was in the vehicle was continuing on Friday and that one Garda member was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
That injured garda has since been released from hospital while property from one burglary in Blackrock was recovered on the M50 by gardaí
