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Four men and one woman arrested in probe into crime gang impersonating gardaí

“An Garda Síochána wish to remind the public that any garda member calling to your door will have identification”

Neil Fetherstonhaugh

Today at 08:39

Five people have been arrested this morning by as part of an operation targeting a criminal gang involved in impersonating gardaí.

Officers from the Garda Eastern Region who are investigating the activities of the gang arrested two men in their 30s, a man in his 50s, another man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s.

“The five persons have been arrested on suspicion of offences contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 as amended and detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 at 5 separate Garda stations across the Eastern Region,” a garda spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, a number of searches are ongoing in three counties across the Dublin and Eastern Regions.

The investigation is led by a Senior Investigating Officer, based out of an incident room at Kilkenny Regional Headquarters.

Garda revealed that they have been investigating the gang’s activities across 15 counties, primarily in the east and the midlands, over the past 10 months.

“Today’s searches and arrests are being conducted by detectives from the Eastern Region, supported by uniform colleagues and Regional Armed Support Units,” gardaí added.

“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.”

This morning, gardaí issued a reminder of previously issued crime prevention advice in relation to this type of bogus tradesmen callers.

The advice states that gardaí 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,” gardaí added.

“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.

“Genuine gardaí will always provide official details to allow you to confirm their identity with your local Garda Station and will be patient while you choose to so.”