Three men have each been sentenced to eight years in prison for conspiring to rob a cash-in-transit van carrying €200,000.
The men were arrested during a garda surveillance operation at Sandyford Business Park in Dublin last year.
Graham Byrne, 34, of Sean McDermott Street, Michael Taylor, 28, of Summerhill and Stephen Fagan, 32, of Rutland Street Lower, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit robbery of Securicor personnel making a delivery of cash at AIB on 23 August 2007.
Michael Taylor had the last three years of his sentence suspended after he was also given a consecutive eight-year sentence for possession of cocaine.
He had pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine worth €70,000 after gardaí caught him in what was described as 'a drug mixing factory' at a house in Garrettstown, Co Dublin.
Graham Byrne and Michael Talyor were caught in possession of a 9mm pistol when gardaí found them sitting in a stolen van parked directly opposite the steel door of the strong room at AIB in Sandyford.
Stephen Fagan was found sitting in another stolen vehicle nearby with a radio scanner, tuned into gardaí and Securicor's radio frequencies.
He tried to ram the garda patrol cars that had blocked him in.
Surveillance operation
Detective Garda Jim Mulligan told prosecuting counsel Dominic McGinn that a surveillance operation had been launched at Sandyford Business Park as a result of confidential information.
He said the van was loaded with €200,000 cash and the staff was about to remove a further €54,000 from the ATM when gardaí intervened.
Both Taylor and Byrne relied on their right to silence during the garda interviews while Fagan said he was there to 'pick up something for someone' to whom he said he 'owed €100,000' because he lost drugs he had been holding.
Gardaí found Taylor wearing a balaclava in the van at Sandyford Business Park and noticed a second balaclava on the van floor, while Fagan had two sets of car keys belonging to stolen vehicles, which were later found parked nearby with false registration plates fitted.
Each of the men had two sets of clothing and gloves.
Fagan admitted being in possession of the stolen car but denied knowing both Byrne and Taylor and claimed he had not been involved in the planned robbery.
