Gardaí link gangs to large-scale phone theft

Gardaí believe organised gangs may be behind the theft of hundreds of expensive mobile phones in Cork each year which end up being sold on the black market in Eastern Europe.

Gardaí had been waiting to see if any of the phones were reactivated in Ireland, but to date none have.

In the meantime, they are aware of a recent incident where a lorry heading for Eastern Europe was stopped in Germany. It contained a consignment of stolen mobile phones, some of which were Irish.

Senior gardaí said that the gangs are targeting smartphones, in particular, which can be worth around €500 each.

According to statistics the most likely time to have your mobile phone stolen in Cork is between midnight and 3am at the weekends.

“The gangs are working pubs and night clubs and waiting for people who are out socialising to drop their guard. They look for handbags that have been left unattended and take cash and the mobiles,” a garda source said.

There has also been an upsurge in gangs targeting sports matches and training events, more especially in rural areas.

Gardaí have asked sports clubs to organise their own security at such events to prevent gangs breaking into parked cars and stealing valuables.

To a lesser extent gangs of youths have stolen phones from teens in the city.

There have also been isolated incidents where drug addicts have mugged people for phones.

Either way it is obvious to gardaí that there must be “fences” in the region who are willing to pay out cash, with no questions asked, for good mobile phones.

“We have a capacity to see if stolen phones are reactivated in this country and our experience for the most part is that they are not,” another garda source said.

Gardaí believe the only solution to locating stolen phones is through pan-European cooperation which would involve mobile phone manufacturers and signal providers getting together and using a computerised system to watch out for a reactivation after a phone is reported stolen.

In the meantime, they say the best way to combat such thefts is to ensure where possible that phones are kept on the person at all times, not left in unattended handbags or on a bar counter.

Gardaí are encouraging everybody who has their phone stolen to immediately report the theft.

“In particular people should always note their mobile phone number and they should take a note of its IMEI security number. The best thing to do is write them down and keep them in a safe place, so if they are unfortunate enough to have them stolen, they can provide us with these details which we can use in our investigation,” a senior garda source said.