Gardai are continuing their search for five men who tied up a family at their home near Athlone and stole more than 100 shotguns and rifles.
The armed gang in balaclavas and boiler suits broke into the home of Mr Jerry Scully who runs his Guns and Tackle business from the house at Barrymore, Hodson Bay, on the Co Roscommon side of Athlone, between 11 p.m. on Thursday night and 12.15 a.m. on Friday.
They tied up Mr Scully, his wife Irene and their three children and raided the gun store. In addition to the firearms, the gang took a quantity of ammunition. They also took the keys of the family jeep and car but did not take the vehicles.
At about 2.30 a.m., Mr Scully managed to free himself and alert gardai on his mobile phone. The Garda helicopter joined in the search for the gang, which was continuing yesterday evening around Athlone and the midlands.
Gardai were keeping an open mind on the incident, a spokeswoman said last night. Paramilitary involvement could not be determined at this stage when so little was known about the incident, she said.
Gardai have appealed for help from anyone who may have been in the Hodson Bay area of Athlone between 8 p.m. on Thursday and 1 a.m. on Friday and may have seen anything suspicious or unusual.
The incident room at Athlone Garda station can be contacted at 0902-92609, or details can be given to any other Garda station.
