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Several arrests in city crime crackdown

Wednesday, 04 June 2008

GARDAI targeted flats and bedsits in the North Circular Road area last week as part of a crackdown on gangs of Roma gypsies believed to be involved in city centre crime.
Gardai from Store Street supported by officers from the Garda National Immigration Bureau targeted a number of properties around North Circular Road and Marlborough Road in Dublin 4.
Eight men, four women and a teenage boy were arrested during the early morning swoops on 19 premises last Wednesday. Those arrested on the Northside were brought to Mountjoy Garda Station and most appeared in court later in the day.
Some property and a small quantity of drugs were seized during the searches and gardai say investigations are continuing.
The searches and arrests were carried out as part of Garda Operation Hawkeye which was set up in response to an upsurge in petty crime believed to be carried out by organised gangs of Roma, originally from Romania.
Garda Chief Superintendent Mick Feehan said gardai were determined to crack down on city centre crime.
“Thousands of people visit the city centre every day to work, to shop or to enjoy an evening out,” he said.
“The vast majority of them will have a safe and pleasant visit. Unfortunately, in recent months some people have fallen victim to thefts which are perpetrated by a small group of organised criminals.
“Today’s operation is part of a determined and focused operation by members of An Garda Síochána which is directed at ensuring that Dublin city centre remains a secure and enjoyable place for everyone.”
Last week’s raids mirrored a similar operation in March when a swoop on properties on the North Circular Road and in Tallaght resulted in a number of arrests and the seizure of e30,000 worth of suspected stolen goods and cash.
Interpreters and a Dublin based Romanian police liaison officer assisted the gardai in both operations.
One of the teenagers arrested in March pleaded guilty at the Children’s Court to stealing sums of e200 from three people making withdrawals from ATM machines.
The court heard that the teen – who had 27 criminal convictions – posed as a flower seller and waved a newspaper in front of his victims to distract them while he used slight of hand to withdraw money from the cash machines.
Another teenage girl was described by a Children’s Court judge as “a danger to the citizens of Dublin” after he heard she had stolen from six women as they made cash withdrawals at ATM machines in the city centre.

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