A vulnerable man who was falsely imprisoned overnight and forced by his captors to withdraw money three times from his bank recognised one of his attackers.
Gardaí have arrested two suspects, a man and a woman, and recovered a large quantity of cash. It is understood around €15,000 was taken in the robbery, during which the victim was also assaulted.
Once the robbery, in Dublin in the early hours of Wednesday morning, was reported to the Garda the investigation moved quickly and was facilitated by a specially arranged evening court sitting.
The victim, who is in his early 60s, was described by sources as vulnerable. Gardaí believe he was effectively preyed upon by a drug user he had assisted finding a place to live in the past.
The robbery ordeal began at around 2am on Wednesday morning when a man and woman, both wearing balaclavas, broken into the victim's home in Terenure, south Dublin.
They gained access to the property, where the victim lived alone, by smashing a downstairs window.
Once inside they demanded money from the home owner and assaulted him. The victim was held in the property by his attackers through the night.
During that period they took him to a nearby ATM twice and forced him to withdraw money for them. And just after 10am they also took him to a branch of his bank and again forced him to withdraw cash.
He was unsuccessful in accessing his money from his account on a first visit into the branch. However, the attackers took him away and then brought him back to the bank where his second withdrawal effort was successful.
It was unclear why the money could not be accessed during the first attempt, though he may not have had sufficient identification.
In the region of €15,000 was taken from the man; the majority during the in-branch transaction.
Once that withdrawal had been made, the man and woman holding the victim captive took the money from him and drove off.
However, gardaí on patrol in the area recognised the male attacker and stopped his car, though they knew nothing of the robbery at that point. It was quickly established there was an outstanding arrest warrant for the suspect.
As a result he was arrested and brought before the courts on Wednesday. He was granted bail by the court and was released.
However, the report of the robbery of false imprisonment was then made to the Garda and one of the suspects named was the man who had just been granted bail.
Gardaí from Terenure station began an investigation and quickly established where the suspect was living.
At a special evening session of the Dublin District Court search warrants were granted for two properties in Dublin 8 linked to the suspects.
And when those properties were searched the money was found. The 24-year-old woman and 27-year-old man were arrested are were still in custody on Thursday evening.
They were being questioned under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act at Terenure Garda station.
The victim sustained minor facial injuries and is currently being cared for by family members.
