Two men arrested yesterday in a midland forest must have thought they had fallen into an episode of The X Files as gardai, planes, helicopters and dogs gave chase through fields and woods near Athlone.
Two men, who broke into a shop in Oliver Plunkett Street, Mullingar, at 7 a.m. were disturbed by the owner. They assaulted her before escaping in a stolen car towards Ballymahon.
Gardai in a squad car from Longford spotted the men and gave chase. At Kiltoom, three miles from Athlone, the men abandoned the car and ran across a field, evading the gardai.
The Garda air support unit was called in, and an aircraft with thermal imaging equipment searched a wide area and located two men in a forest. Local gardai sealed off the area, but failed to find the men. A helicopter was called in to bring a dog unit from Dublin, and the dogs found the two men in the middle of the forest. They are being held under the Criminal Justice Act.
The car used in the robbery attempt was stolen in Dublin on Wednesday night.