Besieged gang surrenders

Press, 28 November 1977, Page 8

Besieged gang surrenders

!NZPA Dublin An armed gang who had ibeen holding five men and one woman hostage in a ; Dublin grocery store since I Saturday surrendered to police early yesterday. The six hostages were released unharmed, said the police.

The end came after a burst of activity in the area of the cash-and-carry store which had been besieged by armed police and soldiers for almost 12 hours.

The police said eight men jhad been taken to the Bridewell police station. Few details of the surrender of the gunmen were available, but it is believed that they gave in peacefully. The end of the siege came not long after interventions by Dr James Cavanagh, auxiliary Roman Catholic Bisihop ’ of Dublin, and Mr

Myles Sheivin, the solicitor who is frequently involved in court cases involving Provisional Republicans. Dublin Government Ministers were kept in touch with the siege position throughout the day. It is probable that the Government will now be pressed to introduce stronger measures to combat the menace of armed crime in the Irish Republic. The gang raided the store in the Drumcondra suburb of Dublin soon after mid-day on Saturday. An employee managed to call the police after locking himself in an office. The police arrived as the raiders were ordering customers and staff to empty their pockets. The gunmen took eight people hostage, but they let two women go on Saturday night.