A Dublin criminal who held staff at gunpoint while his gang robbed Rolex and Cartier watches from a city jewellery shop, has been jailed for ten years.

29 year old Eugene Cullen, a native of Drimnagh, with an address at 92 Derry Road, Crumlin, Dublin, denied the robbery of 18 Cartier watches and 28 Rolex watches valued at €108,887, from Hartmann Jewellers, William Street, Galway, on November 28, 2008, when he appeared before Galway Circuit Criminal Court in 2009.

Cullen absconded while awaiting trial but was arrested in Holland last May and has been in custody since.

He was brought back before the court last December and pleaded guilty to the charge.

Detective Sgt.. John McElroy told the sentencing hearing that Cullen was one of three armed and masked men who entered the jewellery shop around 1pm.

Cullen had a pistol with a silencer attached while the other two men had iron bars.

Staff and one customer were ordered to lie on the floor while Cullen used the gun to smash a glass cabinet containing the watches.

Sgt. McElroy said Cullen has 77 previous convictions and is currently serving a five-year sentence imposed earlier this seek, for the robbery of over €3,000 cash from a father and his son.

Judge Rory McCabe said sentenced him to ten years in prison which was backdated to May 5, last year.