£6.2m stolen in bank hostage drama
An armed gang have held a family with a young child hostage in a so-called tiger-kidnapping as they launched a multi-million euro robbery at one of the Bank of Ireland's flagship branches.
The six-strong gang forced a bank worker into the College Green offices in central Dublin as they held his girlfriend, her mother and her five-year-old granddaughter at gunpoint.
It is believed the gang escaped with up to £6.2 million (7m euro) in cash.
The bank official was taken from his home in the rural Badger Hill area of Co Kildare, 15 miles south-west of Dublin, after raiders burst into the house at gunpoint on Thursday evening.
The gang forced the man, aged in his late 20s, to drive into the city centre branch at dawn and take bags of cash from the vaults and dump them at a drop-off point, before the family was released.
Police said the man was not injured but the two women and young child have been badly traumatised by their ordeal.
Questions are now being asked over security at the high-profile banking centre, in Europe's first purpose-built House of Parliament, overlooking Trinity College, and how one employee had access to such large sums of money.
Bank of Ireland issued a short statement but refused to discuss how much money was taken.
It read: "All of the people involved have been released unharmed and Bank of Ireland is currently investigating the incident. Bank of Ireland's priority is for the safety and wellbeing of the staff member and the family involved in this incident and all of the bank's support services have been made available to them."
At least two cars and one van were used in the tiger kidnap - so-called as raiders stalk their target before launching an attack when the victim is most vulnerable - and they are being hunted by police.
-Nova
