Over 12,000 smartphones stolen last year

Irish and foreign gangs stole more than 12,000 smartphones last year — a rate that has surged by 33% in just 12 months.

New Garda figures show the massive increase in the at-times violent robberies has led to €5m worth of expensive devices being stolen on Irish streets in a single year.

Officers have attempted to tackle the problem by arresting more than 1,000 Irish and foreign criminals linked to the phone snatches during 2012.