Criminals registering cars in names of gardaí and children

Criminals in Co Limerick are giving “two fingers” to gardaí by registering their cars in the names of members of the force or in the names of children.

The brazen practice emerged when Kilmallock Court, Co Limerick, heard the “owner” of a vehicle was a four-year-old girl.

A Volkswagen Passat was seized as part of a criminal investigation following a high-speed pursuit.

Garda Pat Ahern said the vehicle was registered in the name of a four-year-old. He said he was on mobile patrol in an unmarked car in Kilmallock at 8pm on December 26, 2018. His attention was drawn to a black Passat containing five passengers.

“They took off at speed,” he told the court. “They did a number of manoeuvres. They crashed at Forty Acres, Bruree. They went clean in over the ditch. The five occupants got out of the car and fled. The car was seized.”

Garda Ahern launched an investigation to find the car’s owner. Letters were written to the registered owner’s address in Charleville. Through their investigations, They found that the registered owner was a child.

Garda Ahern said: “The car is registered in the name of a four-year-old. Nobody will accept ownership of the vehicle.”

A source said: “They are even registering cars in the names of gardaí to give us the two fingers. You can register the car to anybody you like because there is no cross-reference between the logbook and the new owner.

"There is nothing to say that you are who you say you are. The seller of the car is supposed to send off the name of the new owner to change ownership.

"They can use any name as long as they give an address that the new certificate can be sent to. They don’t tax or insure the car.”

Judge Marian O’Leary granted the police property application for the destruction of the vehicle as it has been in storage since it was seized in Bruree.

There has been no attempt to recover it, it is extensively damaged and the value of the car wouldn’t cover the storage costs.

Fianna Fáil TD for Limerick Niall Collins said:

This is an affront to gardaí and law-abiding members of the public who pay their tax, insurance and get their NCT.

"This shouldn’t be allowed to happen. I am calling on Minister Shane Ross to reform the system so that when you are registering a car there should be a cross-check of maybe a PPS number or a cross-check with a date of birth.

"I am going to raise this in the Dáil when it returns.”