Four men arrested for Mullingar burglary following Garda intercept in Lucan
By Aura McMenamin
Four men are in custody following arrests in Lucan last night as part of a Garda operation targeting an organised criminal gang involved in burglaries.
The men were arrested last night, November 8, as part of Operation Thor after being intercepted by national and regional Garda units following a burglary in Mullingar, Westmeath.
It is believed the men left Dublin in a high powered vehicle and travelled to the Midlands region and committed burglaries before being apprehended in Lucan.
Residents in Lucan reported spotting a Garda helicopter flying over the Newcastle Road after 8:30pm last night, alongside sightings of multiple Garda squad cars in the area.
According to gardai, the men were arrested “in possession of jewellery believed to be the proceeds of burglaries”, along with what gardai describe as “house breaking implements”.
The four men, one in his 60, one in his 20s and two in their 30, all from Dublin, have been taken to Mullingar Garda Station where they are being detained under Section 4 of The Criminal Justice Act, 1984.
Assistant Commissioner, John O’Driscoll, who is the officer in charge of Special Crime Operations and is assigned overall responsibility for coordinating Operation Thor related activity on a National basis, convened a meeting of senior officers and other relevant stakeholders last Thursday.
Under Assistant Commissioner O’Driscoll’s directive for Operation Thor, regional Garda Detective Superintendents aim to gather intelligence on organised crime gangs who are travelling around the country, committing burglaries and using the motorway network to ensure a speedy escape from the crime scene.
The Detective Superintendents are coordinating their Operation Thor related activity which resulted in last night’s arrests
The resources of National units within Special Crime Operations (SCO) were made available to the Region Detective Superintendents and will be utilised throughout the Winter Phase of Operation Thor.
