Gang sought over post office raid

Gardaí believe a gang that staged a post office robbery by breaking through a wall from an adjacent disused hotel timed the theft to coincide with the opening of the post office safe.

However, the raiders may have overestimated the amount of money on the premises and escaped with €15,000.

A gang of up to four men broke into the disused Ormonde Hotel on Ormonde Quay in Dublin’s north inner city and from there broke down the wall into the adjacent post office. One of them threatened the post mistress and stole the money before escaping.

Gardaí believe the men most likely entered the hotel early this morning and weakened the wall between it and the post office.

They then waited until the post mistress arrived and opened the safe just after 8.30am before pushing fully through the wall.

Gardaí believe the men were able to see the post mistress, probably via a small hole in the wall, and waited until she had opened the safe.

One of the gang members burst through the hole in the wall, threatened the post mistress and then took money from the safe.

Gardaí do not believe the raider who entered the post office was armed and said he appeared to use the element of surprise rather than violence to frighten the post mistress into co-operating.

The gang is then believed to have escaped on motorcycles. Gardaí believe a number of men seen outside the hotel and post office this morning were accomplices of the man who stole the money.

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The men on the street outside were dressed in hi-visibility jackets in an apparent attempt to disguise themselves as workmen working in the disused hotel.

At around 9am other men were seen outside wearing leather motorcycle gear and Gardaí believe these were effectively the getaway party, waiting on their accomplice inside.

Gardaí were alerted to the robbery just after 9.20am and an investigation into the matter was begun immediately.

The post office and the hotel, which has been boarded up for many years, were both sealed off by gardaí and was examined by members of the Garda Technical Bureau.

Gardaí are also studying CCTV footage from cameras in the area to try and establish in what direction the gang escaped and when and how they gained access to the hotel.

Gardaí believe they escaped in the direction of Smithfield.