Tag Archives: crime

GARDAÍ in Clare are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the occupants of a car suspected of being used in two burglaries in different parts of the county. A dark blue Audi A3 hatchback was spotted at the scene of the incidents in Clarecastle and Sixmilebridge. On Friday, January 8 at approximately 8.10pm a car reversed into the driveway of a house in the Hillview Estate, Clarecastle. Two males ran to the rear of the house and broke into the house through the patio door. They were disturbed by the teenage son in the house and left empty handed. This car then went in the direction of Sixmilebridge and at 8.20pm four males wearing gloves and balaclavas smashed in the front door of a house in the Woodview Heights estate. All the rooms were ransacked and a safe containing a substantial amount of money and an Apple IPhone 12 was stolen. Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks is urging anybody …

IT can take as little as three minutes for thieves to steal a catalytic converter gardaí in Clare have warned. Gardaí are urging motorists are to take steps to secure the devices following a spate of converter thefts recently. The equipment is coveted by thieves due to their high scrap metal value. Gardaí in Clare are investigating a number of catalytic converter thefts over the Christmas holidays, many of which occurred in the early hours. On Wednesday, December 23 at 1am a man was woken by noise outside his house in Aughanteeroe. He saw two males who left in a red car and he later found that the catalytic convertor had been stolen. On Thursday, December 31 at 1.35am a man was also awoken to noise outside his house on St Joseph’s Road, Ballyvaughan. He saw three or four males outside who they left in the direction of Lisdoonvarna and again the catalytic convertor had been removed from his car. …

WITNESSES are being sought after the homes of elderly people in Ennis and Clarecastle were targetted by burglars last week. Both incidents occurred on Friday night, December 4, with gardaí in Ennis appealing to anybody with any information to contact them. The first burglary took place in a house in the Crescent on St Senan’s Road Ennis. At approximately7.40pm an elderly couple were downstairs in their home when they heard a loud noise upstairs. The elderly man went up the stairs and saw that a lock on a bedroom had been opened and that a hall window was open. When he looked out he saw a male wearing a peaked cap sitting on a flat roof of the house. This male then made his escape. There was nothing taken in this burglary, gardaí have confirmed. The second burglary occurred around 8.45pm in a house in Manusmore, Clarecastle. An elderly man who was in bed heard a loud bang in his …

GARDAÍ seized €1,900 of suspected drugs in Kilrush, on Tuesday, December 8. As part of an ongoing operation targeting the sale and supply of drugs in West Clare, Gardaí from Kilrush executed a search warrant at a house in the Kilrush area at around 11am. During the course of the search Gardaí seized €1,500 of suspected cannabis herb and €400 of suspected benzodiazepine tablets along with a quantity of plastic bags. The suspected drugs will now be sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis. No arrests have been made but Gardaí are following a definite line of enquiry.

A TREE of Hope planted in Shannon Town Park in October was vandalised last weekend. The tree was planted by the local Darkness Into Light group and its chairperson Brenda Leahy was very upset by the vandalism. “Devastated, absolutely devastated. I couldn’t believe it when I got the call to say it had been damaged and there were kids seen around the park. It’s terrible.” Each year Shannon, like many other towns and villages, hosts a Darkness Into Light Walk in aid of Pieta House, but with that being cancelled, the Tree of Hope was planted instead. “Some people were concerned that it might be damaged but we said we’d go ahead with it, and hopefully it wouldn’t be. It was just to give a symbol of hope, it was some place for people to go and remember their loved ones or to reflect.” Having lost her husband to suicide, Brenda said the tree had a special personal meaning to …

Gardaí have seized €21,500 of suspected cannabis in Clare. Shortly after 7.30pm on Monday, September 21, gardaí from the Kilrush Drugs Unit, assisted by uniform Gardaí from Kilrush, executed a search warrant at a house in the Kilmurry-McMahon area. During the course of the search Gardaí discovered €16,000 of suspected cannabis plants. As Gardaí continued to search the property they discovered €5,500 of suspected cannabis herb. All of the suspected drugs will be sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis. No arrests have been made but Gardaí are following a definite line of enquiry.

GARDAÍ are advising car owners to be vigilant following a spate of thefts of catalytic convertors in the county. The latest theft occurred in Clarecastle last week. In the early hours of Wednesday morning last at around 3pm the owner of a car on Patrick Street, Clarecastle discovered the catalytic converter had been cut away from his car. Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks explains that the car owner had thought he had heard the sound of a grinder outside his home before making the unfortunate discovery. Sgt Brooks outlined that there were two similar incidents last week in East Clare, and it can cost the owner up to €2,500 to replace the catalytic converter. “It can take as little as three minutes for a thief to remove it which are being stolen because of the increasing prices in the scrap metal market, platinum, rhodium, palladium and other precious metals they employ to clean exhaust emissions, getting €100 to €300 …

LATEST statistics show that 163 mobile phones were reported stolen in Clare since the beginning of 2019. Gardaí are appealing for smartphone owners to be ’Streetwise’ by downloading a trusted “find my phone” app and adding an emergency contact number to their phone as of the €5 million worth of mobile phones stolen nationwide, only 10% are recovered. The appeal follows the release of figures by the Garda Síochána Analysis Service which show that 11,488 mobile phones have been stolen since the beginning of 2019. Of those, only 1,176 have been recovered. Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Dean Kerins said, “The price of mobile phones makes them a clear target for criminals, so let’s try and deter them by increasing phone security. If you a have a smartphone, we recommend downloading a trusted location finder app so if it is lost or stolen, you have a better chance of getting it back. Some phones already have a feature like this already so have …