Gardaí have arrested three men after the robbery of a cash-in-transit van in Clonee, Co Meath.
Gardaí supported by members of the elite Emergency Response Unit (ERU) stopped two cars on the N3 immediately after the van was held up at gunpoint a at bout 3pm outside a supermarket on Main Street, Clonee.
A cash box containing €30,000, an imitation firearm and an electronic signal blocker were recovered.
The three men - aged 30, 33 and 35 - were arrested for organised crime offences and are being questioned under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 at Finglas and Ashbourne Garda stations.
It is understood the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Unit had been expecting a raid and had targeted a criminal gang after similar raids in the greater Dublin area.