Aggravated Burglary in a Hotel in Leixlip, Kildare on the 20/1/11

The Gardaí at Leixlip are investigating an aggravated burglary that occurred in a Hotel in Leixlip, Co. Kildare on Thursday, the 20th January 2011 at 2.20am.

The night porter had just locked the front door after the last two customers left and guests in the hotel had retired for the night. He was sitting at reception when he heard a noise coming from the back of the hotel.  He went to the exit door and saw three masked men on the roof of a toilet breaking into a window.  The porter tried to close the door but one of the raiders armed with a handgun jumped off the roof and a struggle ensued between them at the exit door.

The three raiders forced their way in to the hotel and assaulted the porter.  The other two raiders were armed with knives.  They searched his pockets and stole his mobile phone and keys to his Toyota Celica vehicle registration number 95D52044 which was parked outside. They brought him to the reception area of the hotel looking for the safe. They forced the porter to crawl to the safe but he did not know the code. One of the raiders hit him on the head and pointed the gun at his head and told him to try and open the safe again. One of the raiders told the porter they would shoot him in the leg if he did not do as they said.

They spent several minutes trying to unlock the code but were unable to do so. They brought the porter into the back bar and the restaurant looking for cash. There was not much cash in the tills. They brought him back to the reception area and ordered him to help them demolish the desk. They rolled and dragged the safe out of the reception area and using the keys they had stolen earlier from the Porter reversed his car to the back door. They ripped a length of carpet from the stairs and rolled the safe along it towards the back of the car. They lifted the safe into the boot. Two of the raiders brought the porter into the back bar and tied his hands and feet with phone cable.

The car alarm on the night porters car went off and the raiders had to release him to show them how to turn it off. They placed him in a large cold room in the kitchen and left the scene in his Toyota Celica registration number 95D52044. When he was sure the raiders were gone he let himself out of the cold room and raised the alarm. The vehicle was tagged travelling northbound through the M50 Toll at 3.27 am on the 20/01/2011. The vehicle was recovered burnt out at Stockhole Lane close to Dublin Airport at 10.30am that morning.

Male 1 - 6”2” in height of thin build (tallest of the three raiders)
Blue hoody, black balaclava, grey tracksuit bottoms, Irish accent, armed a large knife.

Male 2 - 5”9” in height of thin build (smallest of the three raiders) blue jeans, grey jacket, black balaclava, Irish accent, armed with a handgun.

Male 3 - 6”0” in height and thin build, grey addidas tracksuit with darker stripes on the arms and legs, black balaclava, Irish accent, armed with a large knife. 
  

Appeal:

• Anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident and may have witnessed suspicious activity at the hotel.

• Anyone who saw the Toyota Celica registration number 95D52044 on the M50 or the Stockhole Lane areas on the 20/01/2011. A small car dark blue in colour was seen in the area moments before the car was burnt out.

• The porter’s mobile phone was found beside Springdale School on the Malahide Road.

Gardaí at Leixlip Garda Station are investigating                 Telephone 01 6667800