Tuesday, 25 Apr 2023
Updated / Tuesday, 25 Apr 2023 10:37
The five are detained on suspicion of impersonating garda officers to
engage in theft and fraud (File pic: RollingNews.ie)
Five people have been arrested as part of an investigation into
criminal gangs pretending to be gardaí.
The detentions follow a lengthy investigation in more than a dozen
counties.
This morning, four men – two in their 30s, one in his 50s and one in
his 60s – and a woman, who is in her 50s, were detained on suspicion of
impersonating garda officers to engage in theft and fraud.
They are being held at five separate garda stations across the eastern
region.
It is understood the detentions followed several cases where gang
members, passing themselves off as gardaí, called to homes in rural
areas.
They claimed 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.
Homeowners were then asked to produce their own money so it could be
compared to the so-called counterfeit currency at which point the
homeowner's cash was commandeered by the robbers.
The arrests follow investigations into the activities of criminal gangs
in 15 counties, primarily in the east and the midlands, over the past
10 months.
The public is reminded that genuine gardaí will always provide official
details to allow confirmation of their identity with the local garda
station, and will be patient while their identity is being established.