Seven men have been arrested after gardaí intercepted a gang attempting to steal €2m from a cash in transit van in Celbridge, Co Kildare.
One of the men being held is an employee of the security company involved.
Gardaí say three other men, two of whom are brothers, are 'well known criminals' from Finglas in Dublin.
The arrests have been described as very significant.
The gang was intercepted by armed officers from the Emergency Response Unit just before 10am as they moved on the security van as it was making a delivery to an ATM at a shopping centre in the town.
Four stolen cars, a firearm and cutting equipment were recovered at the scene.
The arrests are part of an ongoing investigation and were the culmination of months of intelligence-led policing which focused on the activities of a Finglas based criminal gang.
Officers from the specialist units including the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Emergency Response Unit and the National Surveillance Unit have been monitoring the group for months.
No shots were fired during the incident. There were no injuries and no money was stolen.
