Three men who tried to steal over €2m from a cash-in-transit van in Co Meath in October 2016 have each been sentenced to ten years in jail at Trim Circuit Court.
Stefan Saunders, 40, from Hazelbury Park, Blanchardstown in Dublin, a major target of the drugs and organised crime bureau for over a decade, was sentenced to ten years, with two-and-a-half years suspended.
Francis Murphy, 39, from Drogheda Road, Carranstown, Duleek, Co Louth and Damien Noonan, 31, from Rusheeny Court, Hartstown, Co Dublin were also sentenced to ten years with two-and-a-half years suspended.
During the crime, the three-man gang was forensically aware and dressed in spandex, tight clothing, ski-masks - known as snoods - and each were wearing two pairs of latex gloves.
Saunders was armed with a pistol with eight blank rounds, one in the breach, while Murphy had a crowbar.
These two men hid in the disused bank in Dunboyne Co Meath on 7 October 2016 after breaking the lock on the window and disabling the alarm.
They also had bleach, which they had copiously sprayed the room with and a sheet to lie on as they waited for the G4S van.
The van and the ATM contained more than €2m.
Noonan had dropped Saunders and Murphy off at the bank in the early hours and waited for them on the Main Street in Dunboyne in a stolen BMW X 5 SUV.
They all had walkie-talkies and carried mobile phones.
Detective Superintendent Justin Kelly from Special Crime Operations told the court that 50 detectives were involved in the operation over two months, which included extensive surveillance in Dublin and Meath and recording the men's conversations.
The arrests were carried out by 23 members of the heavily-armed Emergency Response Unit.
The gang had been to the area seven times before the attempted robbery, four times to watch the movements of the cash-in-transit van and three more times in the early hours of the morning to break the lock, security grille and disable the alarm.
Saunders has two previous convictions for road traffic offences while both Murphy and Noonan have previous convictions for firearms and other offences.
Judge Michael O'Shea described the conspiracy as professionally planned, organised and executed.
He said each had their own separate jobs to do and had it been successful there would have been substantial financial gain.
He complimented gardaí on their meticulous preparation in preventing the robbery and arresting the accused at the scene.
Saunders and Noonan exercised their right to silence in custody while Murphy told gardaí "you know full well what I was doing there, I made a huge mistake".
