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.