Two arrested after hijack of taxi

Two men from Roscommon were arrested by Athlone gardai during the early hours of Friday morning last after a taxi was hijacked and two Garda patrol cars were rammed. The taxi was travelling from Roscommon to Athlone with two male passengers on board when the two men attacked the taxi driver and robbed him of a small amount of cash at Ballymurray (the level crossing just outside Roscommon). The men then stole the taxi driver's car and drove off in the direction of Athlone. Athlone gardai spotted the car in the Monksland area later and when they were attempting to apprehend the two men two patrol cars were rammed. The gardai stopped the car in Baylough and arrested two men in their twenties from the Roscommon area. They were held in Athlone Garda Station and charged on Friday in relation to road traffic offences. They were both released on bail to appear before Athlone District Court on September 23 in relation to these charges. A file is being prepared for the DPP in relation to the robbery aspect of the case. In a separate incident a van carrying over €200,000 worth of equipment from Athlone was hijacked near the south Armagh border on Friday. The van was hijacked by four armed men on the main Monaghan to Armagh Road at Tyholland, a few miles from Monaghan town. The driver of the van was tied up, along with the driver of a milk lorry that arrived on the scene as the hijack was taking place. Both men were left at a disused shed but managed to free themselves later and raise the alarm. The Garda Air Support Unit was called in and the hijacked van was found, but its contents were missing. Both Gardai and the PSNI are investigating the incident.