Dawn raids on suspects in spate of robberies

UPWARDS of 50 gardaí carried out dawn raids yesterday on the homes of a gang whose members are suspected of being involved in scores of robberies in Cork, Limerick and Galway.

The crimes included a ram-raid in Clonakilty, Co Cork, where €40,000 was snatched.

Four men in their late teens and early 20s were arrested during the raids which were co-ordinated by Cork-based Detective Superintendent Tom Hayes and Superintendent Vincent Duggan. Gardaí went to a number of addresses in Limerick city and county where they arrested the men, who are alleged to have started their crime spree last April when they carried out the ram raid on a business in Clonakilty.

Supt Duggan said that the gang members were being questioned about more than 30 robberies which occurred in recent months in the Ballyvourney, Dunmanway, Clonakilty, Bantry, Macroom and Millstreet areas.

In addition they are also being questioned about another 20 robberies in Galway and Limerick.

The men were being detained under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, which relates to an aggravated robbery in Portumna, Co Galway.

Under the act they can be held for up to seven days.

The men were being detained at Henry Street, Roxboro Road and Bruff Garda Stations in Limerick.

Following the spate of robberies gardaí put on extra night-time patrols in the west Cork region. But Supt Duggan said they were up against members of a gang who were reckless in the extreme. “They were using fast, high-powered vehicles and damaged patrol cars. On occasions gardaí had to break off pursuits because the reckless driving of members of the gang would have created a risk to the public,” said Supt Duggan.

In addition, the gang had violent tendencies and gardaí were reportedly forced to send out armed patrols to counter their threat.

In one case, a security guard at an industrial estate in Ballyvourney — who tried to stop the gang robbing a factory — was forced to run to his car for safety. Two gang members followed him and smashed the car’s windows with sledge hammers while he was still inside and trying to drive away.

Meanwhile, a foreman at another business in Millstreet was threatened with iron bars.

The gang’s activity was taken so seriously that gardaí set up a special incident room at Coachford Garda Station in Co Cork. The incident room became the centre for co-ordinating yesterday’s swoops.

It quickly became apparent that many robberies in the Garda southern region bore the same modus operandi.

“The gang would use cars to smash through gates or doors and then remove the safe from the premises. They would drive away with it and open it up at another location,” said Supt Duggan.

Following hours of intelligence work gardaí carried out co-ordinated raids yesterday.

“We are confident this will bring an end to the gang’s activities,” said Supt Duggan.