Gardaí arrest gang suspected of ATM raids

Gardaí believe they have arrested all members of a gang behind a spate of ATM robberies across the South East over recent years.

A major search operation — backed up by elite armed units — raided 11 homes in Carlow yesterday and arrested seven men, including two teenagers.

Gardaí said the organised crime gang is believed to be responsible for more than 70 crimes in Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, and Wexford over the past year alone.

As well as ATM robberies, their crimes also include aggravated burglaries, armed robberies, theft of vehicles and plant machinery and criminal damage. They have also targeted filling stations and licenced premises.

Customs officers were also involved in the multi-agency operation. They are examining whether duties have been paid on vehicles owned by the men, whether they have been using laundered diesel, and if they have been involved in the contraband cigarette trade.

The operation, part of Operation Fiacla, a national crackdown on armed robberies and burglaries, has been targeting the gang for the last 18 months.

The investigation, involving between 60 and 70 officers, was led by detectives in Carlow and Kilkenny, along with colleagues in Tipperary and Wexford. They were assisted by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Customs.

The armed Regional Support Unit provided back-up during the arrest operation.

The seven men, aged from 18 to 29, were arrested on suspicion of participation in a criminal organisation under anti-gangland legislation introduced in 2007.

While gardaí will investigate the possibility of charging them with participation, the men are more likely to be prosecuted for specific crimes.

The gang centres around an extended family and associates from the Carlow/Laois border. They are suspects behind smash-and-grab raids on ATMs, including one at Castlecomer post office, Co Kilkenny, in Oct 2011 and a Bank of Ireland branch at Bagenalstown, Carlow, in Apr 2010.

In both cases the gang stole a JCB and used it to smash into the buildings and grab the ATM.

The gang targeted ATMs in filling stations and carried out robberies in licenced premises and garages.