Three men in their 20s are to appear before Dublin District Court this morning charged in relation to an armed robbery of an off-licence and hijacking a Garda car and taxi in Dublin at the weekend.
The men, one of whom was armed with sawn-off shotgun, entered Molloy's off-licence at Swiss Cottage, Santry, shortly after 12.30 a.m. on Saturday.
They stole an undisclosed sum of money and were about to leave the premises when gardaí, alerted by a member of staff, arrived.
The thieves managed to break away from the gardaí and the man carrying the shotgun hijacked the waiting Garda car. However, his escape was prevented by a second patrol car which arrived at the scene.
The gunman got out of the patrol car and again managed to evade arrest by running out of the car-park and stopping a taxi on a nearby road. He forced his way into the taxi, threatening the driver with his weapon.
The taxi-driver was forced to drive a short distance away from the scene before the car was blocked by another Garda vehicle. Gardaí managed to confiscate the keys and overpower and arrest the gunman.
Meanwhile, the other two thieves tried to make their getaway through the gardens of a surrounding housing estate but were apprehended by gardaí on foot.
Gardaí recovered the money, a firearm and a stolen car at the scene. The men, who are all from Dublin, were arrested and taken to Santry Garda Station for questioning. They were later transferred to the Bridewell station and charged in relation to the robbery, hijacking and firearms offences. All three are due to appear in court at 10.30 a.m today.
