Gardaí have said they arrested 27 people for questioning as part of a pan-European operation about metal theft last month.
Gardaí arrested 27 people — and recovered 1,000 stolen beer kegs — as part of a Europe-wide crackdown on the lucrative trade in stolen metal.
The beer keg haul — valued at up to €100,000 — was recovered in an operation led by the elite Organised Crime Unit, which conducted more than 70 searches in Wicklow, Dublin and Cavan.
The EU operation, co-ordinated by Europol, involved 20 countries and 8,300 checks and searches at scrap metal dealers.
A total of 271 people were arrested and 146 cases of theft identified.
The operation follows a diverse range of metal thefts in recent years, including:
- 15 manhole covers in Ennis, Co Clare, last March, worth an estimated €15,000;
- Live electricity rail cables at Shankill, Dublin, last May, which resulted in the cancellation of services between Bray and Dalkey;
- Copper piping and cylinder from a home in Newbridge, Co Kildare, which caused the house to flood extensively;
- A 236-year-old bronze bell, weighing up to 180kg, belonging to a former church in Castleisland, Co Kerry, and stolen from the town’s Ivy Leaf Arts Centre.
A Garda spokesman said the 27 people arrested were detained for a variety of offences including burglary, theft, and related matters, as well as road traffic offences.
He said the operation, carried out on May 21 and 22, was conducted with the co-operation of the Metal Theft Forum, local authorities, and other stakeholders.
Europol said checks were carried out at scrapyards, construction sites, border roads, and at railway tracks.
“Metal theft is not a victimless crime — it can have a devastating impact on individuals, communities, and businesses,” said Rob Wainwright, director of Europol.
“The overall damage caused by metal theft far exceeds the value of the stolen metal itself and can severely affect key infrastructure and services such as railway, traffic controls and telecoms networks.”
The Irish Examiner reported earlier this year that the theft of stolen beer kegs had cost the industry an estimated €40m since 2007.
The Irish Brewers’ Association said over 400,000 beer kegs had been stolen or reported missing in the last seven years.
An Eircom spokeswoman said the company had suffered 21 incidents of metal theft so far in 2014, with wiring worth over €21,000 taken. She said there were 200 incidents last year, including 60km of cable worth €240,000 taken.
During a three-week period last December, Electric Ireland recorded 12 thefts of power cables.
In one incident, a residential area in Sallynoggin, south Dublin, lost its power after a criminal gang cut live cables and stole them.
Over 70 premises were searched in Wicklow, Dublin and Cavan as part of an operation co-ordinated by Europol.
Gardaí attached to the Organised Crime Unit recovered over 1000 stolen beer kegs.
The 27 people were arrested for a variety of offences including burglary and theft as well as breaches of Road Traffic acts.
This operation, on May 21 and 22, was conducted with the co-operation of the Metal Theft Forum, local authorities and other interested stake holders with responsibility for enforcing the legislation in this area.
No comments:
Post a Comment