Prison officers were on alert after two men who were following a prison van last night were arrested.
The Prison Officers Association (POA) fears vans carrying inmates could be ambushed and said today it was concerned about the incident in Ballyfermot, west Dublin, last night.
POA general secretary John Clinton warned members to be extra vigilant especially in the wake of an increase in organised crime gangs.
“This may be a new element of their criminal activities,” he said.
“We can be as vigilant as we can but if there are elements, serious criminals, tracking you down and waiting to try and ambush a prison service van you’re going to be left in a very serious situation should they decide to act.
“These people were serious criminal elements who were picked up by the gardaí. “Thankfully the gardaí were very efficient last night and we are thankful for that.”
“It’s reassuring in one way but it’s also very worrying in another that this type of incident has occurred.”
There were two staff members in the empty prison van which was driving through Ballyfermot back to Cloverhill Prison at 7.30pm when gardaí spotted two Limerick gangland figures travelling behind it and became suspicious.
One of the suspects is understood to be the leader of a criminal gang from Limerick and the second is an associate and former inmate.
Detectives are trying to discover why they were following the van. A garda spokesman confirmed the car had been stopped and the two men brought to a nearby station for a drugs search.
Nothing illegal was found and the men were later released without charge.
Mr Clinton said the POA has demanded a full review of what happened from the Irish Prison Service and Department of Justice “I will be asking for a report on this issue and will be asking to increase security and put in measures to ensure members can carry out this task in a secure way and a safe manner,” he added.
PA