Arrests update: Rolex watches, vehicles and cash seized in Kilkenny Garda led operation

Rolex watches, vehicles and a substantial amount of cash have been seized by a Kilkenny Garda led operation, in searches following the arrest of five people yesterday.

Six searches in three counties followed the arrest of four men and one woman in an organised crime investigation.

A Kilkenny-led team investigating a gang that has been impersonating members of An Garda Síochána made five arrests in an early-morning swoop on Tuesday.

During the searches investigating gardaí seized the following items
 
• €3000 cash from one location
• Five vehicles
• Three Rolex watches
• Various other items of evidential value.

Gardaí from the Garda Eastern Region investigating the activities of a criminal gang involved in theft and fraud, by impersonating gardaí across 15 counties, arrested two males in their 30s, a male in his 50s, a male in his 60s and a female in her 50s.

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The five arrested continue to be detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 at five separate Garda stations across the Eastern Region.

Kilkenny Live reported in recent weeks an incident where men purporting to be members of An Garda Síochána gained entry to a house in rural Kilkenny under false pretences. The men had their faces covered. They ransacked the house taking a sum of cash.

The five people arrested on Tuesday have been arrested on suspicion of offences contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 - a person who for the purpose of enhancing the ability of a criminal organisation to commit or facilitate a serious offence, knowingly, by act participates in or contributes to any activity of the organisation, is guilty of an offence

The investigation is led by a Senior Investigating Officer, based out of an incident room at Kilkenny Regional Headquarters and has been investigating the gang's activities across 15 counties, primarily in the east and the midlands, over the past 10 months.

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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.