‘TIKTOK JOYRIDERS’ | 

Four teens arrested after stealing three cars from Dublin shopping centre in broad daylight

North Dublin teenagers have been filming their criminal antics and uploading videos onto the TikTok social media app

Yesterday at 12:12

Four juvenile males who are suspected of a spate of car thefts across the capital were arrested for stealing three cars from a west Dublin shopping centre in broad daylight.

There has been increasing garda concern about the activities of the north Dublin teenagers who have been filming their criminal antics and uploading videos onto the TikTok social media app.

“This seems to be done for two main reasons – to show off to their friends and associates as well as to taunt gardaí who have been monitoring their social media accounts,” a source said.

“There are plenty of other different teenage gangs in Dublin engaged in exactly the same activity as well with the social media element and it also a huge problem in the Cork city area,” the source added.

In the latest alleged incidents linked to the young crew, three cars – all Asian import models – were stolen from Blanchardstown Shopping Centre at around 8.30pm on Saturday.

Then on Sunday the same suspects were observed by gardaí and later arrested when it is believed they were in the locality to steal more cars.

They were caught by gardaí after abandoning the car they were in and attempting to flee by running into back gardens.

After being questioned for a number of hours it is understood that they were released without charge with the use of the of the Garda Youth Diversion Programme being considered for the suspects.

Three of the juvenile males are from the Ballymun area of the capital’s northside while the other is from Swords.

“To say that these individuals have been on the garda radar in the last few months is a complete understatement. They are suspected of engaging in this activity on an almost daily basis. It is a matter of huge concern,” a source explained.

“They are taking cars that are easy to steal and then driving them in an extremely reckless fashion – often driving on the wrong side of the road or motorway in the hope they take a chase from gardaí who often cannot pursue them because it is too dangerous,” the source added.

Figures for the thefts of cars and motorbikes continue to spiral particularly in Dublin where a number of teenage gangs such as the one arrested on Sunday are engaged in so-called joyriding.

It is understood that at least five cars have been stolen for the purpose of joyriding in the capital in the past 48 hours from locations as diverse as Rathfarnham on the southside to north County Dublin.

“Some officers are saying that the situation in relation to joyriding is worse than it was in the 1980’s when there was an epidemic of this type of crime in the capital,” another source explained.

“The reality is that gardaí were much better equipped to tackle this issue 35 years ago than they are now for a number of different reasons,” the source added.

Pointing out that the “new breed” has absolutely no fear of the law or concerns about how they drive the cars they steal, there are major concerns of further fatalities on the country’s roads after a 16-year-old was killed earlier this month.

He died in a head-on collision when the stolen car in which he was a passenger drove the wrong way down the M8 motorway and crashed into an innocent 37-year-old female motorist in Co. Cork.

Gardaí had two interactions with the stolen car, which failed to stop in the moments before the fatal collision and was clocked by gardaí travelling at 175kph on shortly before it was driven the wrong way onto the northbound lane of the M8.

Gardaí abandoned their pursuit as the stolen car headed south on the M8 against oncoming traffic.

Figures released by gardai in April revealed that that 27% of the thefts that happened countrywide up to that stage were of Asian cars imported into the country which are favoured by joyriders because the vehicles do not have an immobiliser or fully fitted alarm system which makes them easy targets for thieves who hotwire the cars.

Garda statistics show that more than 4,000 vehicles were reported stolen in 2022, a 52 per cent increase on 2021 and 17 per cent increase on 2019.

An Garda Síochána said the rise was driven by the theft of second-hand imported cars from outside the European market, which may be due to the lack of security features in the most commonly stolen imported vehicles.