The garda armed support unit became involved in the pursuit at around Enfield, County Meath on the M4 motorway
A man who took off at speed at a covid checkpoint during lockdown over three years ago was later involved in a 90 kilometre high speed chase with gardaí.
Garda Conor Shields told Diana Stuart BL, prosecuting, that three hours later, while he and a colleague were manning a checkpoint in Tullamore, Co Offaly, he was notified that a man driving an Audi A4 had driven off at speed from a covid checkpoint in Birr, also County Offaly. He said he and his colleague indicated to the driver to stop the vehicle but the driver continued at speed towards the checkpoint and both gardaí had to jump out of the way to avoid being struck.
Gda Shields said Almajanu changed the direction he was driving, heading back towards Dublin and the pursuit continued with the man continuing to drive at speeds of 160 km/hr in an attempt to evade gardaí. Judge Orla Crowe said these “multiple acts of dangerous driving” were carried out at a time when “the country was at the highest level of lockdown and in this context this man was in County Clare with three other people before he drove across the midlands”.