Gang suspected of luxury car thefts in border areas are now targeting Dublin

Sunday World

a day ago

Criminals strip vehicles for parts at 'chop shop' in Northern Ireland
One of the suspects went to Connolly Hospital in Dublin for treatment for his injuries
An organised crime gang suspected of stealing luxury cars in border ­counties and stripping them for parts for the black market are believed to have expanded their operations to Dublin.
Three criminals have been ­identified as being the leaders of the gang, who are operating a ­'chop shop' in Northern Ireland.
The expensive cars are dismantled there, with the parts either exported or sold on the black market in the Republic.
Gardaí have identified two ­career criminals from Co Louth, aged in their mid-30s, and a Dublin ­criminal from Blanchardstown, aged in his mid-40s, as key players in the operation.
The Dublin criminal has convictions for car theft dating to the 1990s when he was a juvenile.
The younger pair from Louth also have convictions for car theft offences.
There are concerns that the gang have expanded their operations from the border counties into the capital.
Gardaí were warned last year not to approach the volatile criminal unless armed
The men were involved in a high-speed chase with gardaí on July 11 in the Blanchardstown area in which two cars crashed.
The criminals fled the scene, but the Dubliner went to Connolly Hospital the following day for treatment for injuries.
Their current base is the Newry area of Co Down, and they have been stopped and searched by the PSNI on a number of occasions.
'This gang is organised in nature in terms of the cars they steal and the money they are suspected of making from it,' a source said.
One of the Louth criminals is considered by gardaí to be 'reckless and out of control'.
Gardaí were warned last year not to approach the volatile criminal unless armed. At the time, he was involved in a feud with a criminal from Co Monaghan.
He previously served a jail sentence for threatening to kill a number of people.
Two gang members were arrested over an incident in which a pedestrian was killed
Meanwhile, gardaí are also continuing to monitor the activities of the Lucky Dip gang, who have been stealing cars throughout Leinster.
An 18-year-old criminal who is considered the leader of the Lucky Dip outfit is currently out on bail after he appealed against a seven-month sentence handed down by the district court earlier this year.
Sources said gardaí have been monitoring a number of TikTok accounts linked to the Dublin teenager, in which he has been taunting gardaí with videos of Lucky Dip members driving stolen vehicles.
One of these cars is a Volkswagen Golf believed to have been stolen in Rathfarnham, south Dublin, in March.
The gang have been driving at high speed the wrong way along motorways and at roundabouts.
Two gang members have been arrested over an incident last year in which a pedestrian was killed in north Dublin.
There are major concerns that some gang members have ­'graduated' to be involved in serious organised crime in west Dublin.
Gardaí nicknamed them the Lucky Dip gang after learning that they pick towns at random on an almost nightly basis using Google Maps.
One of the suspects went to Connolly Hospital in Dublin for treatment for his injuries
Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 27th