The gangsters who rammed a Prison Service van in a botched failed bid to spring a suspected killer from it had been planning the attack for at least a month, it emerged last night.
And, as gardai hunt for the gang responsible for the incident in rural Co Monaghan on Wednesday evening, sources say they were trying to force the release of a notorious criminal who is facing up to a decade behind bars.
Four inmates were in the Prison Service van when it was attacked near Clontibret at around 6.45pm on Wednesday – but sources have confirmed the gang was only interested in rescuing one of them, reports Irish Mirror.
Read more: NI car involved in getaway from prison van ramming incident
That man is a criminal from north of the border who is a suspect for at least one killing.
He is currently before the courts and cannot be named, but if convicted of the charges he has been hit with, could be locked up for 10 years.
Detectives believe associates of the criminal, who has served prison terms on either side of the border, hatched a plot to spring him from the van in a desperate bid to secure his freedom before he is convicted and jailed.
Gardai suspect criminals from south Armagh were behind the attack, which ended in disaster for them when none of the four inmates in the van escaped following the ambush.
But officers revealed the BMW X5 SUV used by the gang to ram the van was stolen last month and investigators believe the raid had been planned even before that.
“The BMW was stolen in Meath in May, but the plan was obviously someone’s brainchild before that,” a source revealed last night.
“That was just the first phase, so it had to be being worked on before that date.”
Gardai said the BMW, reg plate 04D77272 was stolen in Ashbourne on 15 May. Officers said a false plate of 06D520 was fitted to it for the attack.
The jeep rammed the van as it was heading to Dublin from Monaghan at Clontibret at 6.45pm on Wednesday.
None of the prison staff in the vehicle or the four prisoners were injured - and the thugs fled in the BMW without the inmate they wanted to rescue.
The BMW was set on fire a short distance and the gang used a black or grey Audi A4 with northern plates to flee from the pot where they dumped the jeep.
Gardai at Monaghan station are investigating and have appealed for witnesses to contact them on 047 77200 the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.
Officers asked for calls from:
- Anyone who was travelling on the N2 in the vicinity of Kilcrow, Clontibret, Co. Monaghan between 5.30pm and 7pm on Wednesday 15th June 2022
- Anyone who was in the vicinity of Monaghan town centre between 9am and 7pm on Wednesday 15th June 2022 who may have seen a gold BMW X5 registration 06D520, or a grey / black Audi A4 with Northern Ireland registration plates
- Any person with any information on the gold BMW X5 from when it was stolen in Ashbourne on the 15th May 2022 to when it was involved in this incident in Monaghan on the 15th June 2022 either bearing the real registration 04D77272 or the false registration 06D520.
A Garda spokesman said: “Where was this vehicle parked/ stored during that period?
“Was this vehicle refuelled during that period?”
Senior prison sources last night praised the coolness of officers caught up in the incident.
“They handled themselves very well,” a source said last night.
The staff quickly realised they were under attack and called for help from gardai – who raced to the scene.
Armed gardai then escorted the inmates back to prison in Dublin – and the escape plan failed.
Read more: Major search launched after gang rams prison van to try free inmate
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