Five people have been arrested as part of an investigation into a criminal gang impersonating gardaí.
Six searches were carried out in three counties across the Dublin and Eastern regions yesterday morning.
During the course of the searches, gardaí also seized €3,000 in cash, five vehicles, and three Rolex watches.
Four men, aged between their 30s and 60s,and one woman in her 50s, were arrested.
The investigation, based in Kilkenny Garda Station, is continuing.
Garda Investigation
The investigation is led by a Senior Investigating Officer, based out of an incident room at Kilkenny Regional Headquarters.
It has been investigating the gangs activities across 15 counties, primarily in the east and the midlands, over the past 10 months.
Yesterday’s searches and arrests are being conducted by detectives from the Eastern Region, supported by uniform colleagues and Regional Armed Support Units.
The theft/ fraud involved members of the gang calling to rural homes, impersonating a member of An Garda Síochána, claiming they were investigating burglaries in the area where sums of cash had been stolen and that they were attempting to identify the owners of the cash, or counterfeit cash.
The requested to compare cash in their possession against cash held by the home owner and then proceed to take any cash from the home owner.
Crime Prevention Advice
An Garda Síochána has previously issued crime prevention advice in relation to this type of bogus tradesmen callers.
Members of An Garda Síochána will not cold call to a house and request to check cash in this manner.
An Garda Síochána wish to remind the public that any Garda member calling to your door will have identification.
However, should you have any concerns about the person at the door, you should not answer the door even if they are purporting to be a Garda.
Written by James Cox & Beat News
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