Gardaí target burglary gang linked to brutal attack on OAP
GARDAÍ have raided the homes of a burglary gang in Tallaght suspected of a violent home invasion that has left an 83-year-old woman fighting for her life in the North.
Gardaí in Tallaght, along with officers from the PSNI, carried out the raids yesterday morning.
Pat Davidson was left with a fractured skull, spine and pelvis after plunging from a first-floor window when the gang broke into her home in Aughnacloy, Co. Tyrone.
She is now fighting for her life in hospital following the attack last Tuesday week.
Three searches were carried out in the Ardmore area of Tallaght yesterday morning.
Two Traveller families, well known for their involvement in burglaries, were targeted by gardaí and police officers.
No arrests were made but mobile phones and clothing was seized, it is understood.
The Irish Daily Mail previously revealed that gardaí seized a wellknown Tallaght criminal’s car – a Golf 4 – after an unrelated chase in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, on Wednesday last week possibly linked to the pensioner’s break-in.
They later found this car was detected on Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras near the old woman’s home in the North, shortly before the violent break-in the day before.
This well-known burglar was not targeted in yesterday’s raids, but it is understood he is closely linked to the criminals whose homes were searched.
The PSNI released details of two other cars detected in the area with false number plates fitted, which they believe could be linked to the burglary.
The Tallaght criminal, who is not a Traveller but works closely with organised Traveller burglary gangs in Dublin, was not in the car when it was seized last Wednesday. The car was imported from the UK – where it was reported stolen in November.
The Mail understands that gardaí believe they can link the seized car to up to 50 burglaries. Screwdrivers and other housebreaking equipment was also found in the vehicle.
‘These organised gangs treat this like a proper job and dedicate themselves to it. They go out robbing for the day. They import high-powered cars to evade gardaí. They are causing mayhem still,’ a source said.