Tag Archives: garda

Officers from Revenue’s Customs Service seized a quantity of offensive weapons following a search, under warrant, of a private residence near Kilmihil today (Tuesday). The operation was conducted following an investigation into the attempted importation of a number of stun guns through the postal system. The weapons seized included stun guns, nunchucks, knuckle dusters, extendable batons, a flick knife and an air pistol. Members of An Garda Síochána assisted with the operation and investigations are ongoing.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) and the gardaí have appealed to drivers, in the run up to the June Bank Holiday weekend to save lives by going easy on the accelerator. The organisations have asked drivers not only to reduce speed but to always drive at a speed appropriate to all the prevailing conditions. Over 70,000 speeding offences have already been detected in 2015. Nearly 80% of those detections were for speeds between 10 and 29 km/h over the posted speed limit. A further 10% were in excess of 30 km/h over the posted speed limit. Figures show that the June Bank Holiday has consistently been the starting point for what is traditionally the most dangerous period on Ireland’s roads – summertime. In the last five years, 256 people have died in June, July and August. Over the next three months it is possible therefore that 51 lives could be lost in crashes on the nation’s roads. Minister for Transport …

GARDAÍ have urged car owners to be on the alert when they park their vehicles, following the theft of number plates. Between 5.05pm and 11pm on Monday, May 11, the front and rear number plates of a red Toyota Corolla hatchback were stolen while it was parked on the road outside of Bunratty Castle Hotel. The registration is 04 C 24375. Between 8.30pm on Monday, May 11 and 5pm on Tuesday, May 12, the number plate of a blue Toyota Corolla saloon was stolen, while parked at Cuirt na hEaglaise, Newmarket-on-Fergus. The registration number is 98 D 42483. At around 7.20pm on Saturday last, the number plates from a blue Ford Fiesta hatchback were stolen while it was parked in Tradaree Court in Shannon. The registration number is 06 D 37722. Gardaí are asking for help in respect of any suspicious activity in the areas at the time or to watch out for the number plates on any other vehicles.

A GARDA operation targeting money-lending in Kilrush involved searches of at least one solicitor’s office, local representatives were told last week. It also emerged that the Criminal Assets Bureau is continuing an investigation in the West Clare town. At the recent meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, Garda Chief Superintendent John Kerin highlighted a number of successful operations carried out by gardaí in the division, despite cuts to staffing levels. In December 2013, 11 people were arrested in connection with illegal money-lending in the town, following a six-month operation involving 130 gardaí. The chief superintendent outlined that the investigation included searches of offices, solicitors’ offices, private homes and computers and that CAB is still investigating suspected proceeds of criminal conduct in the area. “This was the only operation of its kind for the last two years,” he stated. Such was the success of the operation that former superintendent in the West Clare area, Seamus Nolan, has been invited to …

A JURY took just 44 minutes to convict a man of sending a pig’s head through the post to the Kilkee home of Garda Paul Heaslip in 2012, at Wednesday’s sitting of Ennis Circuit Court. The trial of Brendan Mahoney, a 48-year-old Dublin man with an address at Cabra Park, Dublin 7, who has spent time living in Clare, began last week. The court heard from both Garda Heaslip and his then fiancée, now wife Natalie, who spoke about their disgust when the box containing the pig’s head, which was said to have had a “very pungent odour”, was opened on the afternoon of January 31, 2012. Mahoney has been in custody since January, having been arrested in Spain after taking up work abroad while on bail. During the course of the trial, which began last week, the jury were shown CCTV footage of a man in Prussia Street Post Office in Dublin. Garda Sergeant Ronan O’Hara said that following …

A 13-year-old boy who went missing overnight from his home in Shannon has been located safe and well. His disappearance was noted at 8.20am on Tuesday and gardaí were informed that he had left home at some point during the night. With gardaí concerned for his safety, a search commenced along the estuary. Initially, it just involved gardaí, then the Shannon-based Coastguard helicopter became involved, along with Bunratty Search and Rescue and the fire brigade. Further search and rescue units from West Clare, Killaloe and Limerick were on their way to join the search, but the boy turned up safely at his home shortly after 10am.

A MAN who has been living in Quin and was due to be extradited to the UK, has been arrested and brought before the High Court after he failed to present himself at a Dublin Garda Station. The court heard that wheelchair-bound David Warwick told gardaí the reason he didn’t travel to Dublin was because he was feeling unwell and he was going back to bed. Last month, the High Court ordered Mr Warwick, a UK national who had been living at Quin Gardens in the village, to be extradited to the UK where he is wanted for an alleged breach of the terms of his release from prison. After the extradition order was made, Mr Warwick was released on bail pending his extradition to England by ferry. As part of his bail conditions, he was required to travel to Dublin and present himself to the gardaí at Store Street Garda Station at noon last Monday. Arising from his failure …

A large number of criminal activities including incidents of attempted murder, drug dealing and cybercrime were successfully tackled during 2014 with information provided by calls to the confidential Crimestoppers service. In Munster and Connacht, information given to Crimestoppers led to cannabis seizures and arrests. In Leinster, drugs including heroin, cocaine and cannabis herb with a combined street value of over €25,000 were seized and arrests were made. According to a new Crimestoppers report, the service received an average of 138 calls every month during 2014. The most common calls requiring action include drug dealing, sexual offences, cybercrime and road traffic offences. The Crimestoppers’ freephone number 1800 250025 provides a confidential means for every citizen to report crime, without fear of recrimination and is open from 9am until 9pm daily. Calls are answered by trained Gardaí and are dealt with in the strictest of confidence. Callers do not need to leave their name or address. Over 1,600 calls were made to …