Four quizzed as Garda and PSNI target cross-Border car thieves

A STOLEN Toyota Land Cruiser and parts of many similar vehicles have been recovered in a joint operation involving the Garda and the PSNI along the Border.

The seizure, in a yard at Mayobridge, Co Down, was part of a four-day operation against a cross-Border gang responsible for the theft of up to 20 Land Cruisers so far this year.

A large amount of other property stolen in the Republic was also seized, along with 50,000 illegal cigarettes and a large quantity of vodka.

Four men, aged between 37 and 59 years, were arrested at the scene on suspicion of handling property believed to have been stolen here.

After questioning, they were released by the PSNI on police bail, pending further inquiries.

The police on both sides of the Border are now trying to trace the owners of the vehicle parts as chassis identification numbers have been erased from many of them.

The operation began with the search of the yard at Mayo- bridge in the Newry area last week.

It was carried out with the help of the cross-Border Joint Action Force, which also includes Revenue officials from both sides as well as immigration and drugs officers.

Gardaí say some of the organisers of the Land Cruiser thefts are based in south Co Armagh but the criminal gang has a network operating in both jurisdictions to carry out the thefts and dispose of the stolen goods.

Officers in Meath are investigating the theft of 15 Land Cruisers in their division alone since June while others have been taken from the Border counties.

The gang has been focusing on Land Cruisers, in particular, because of a huge demand for parts on the black market.

The vehicles are being stolen and then stored in garages and sheds to establish if tracker devices have been fitted.

The thieves wait for several days and then dispatch the vehicles to be broken down for parts.

In several robberies, the gang has broken the lock on the door of a house or cut a hole in a window to steal car keys.

The Irish Farmers’ Association has backed up gardaí in their recent appeals to farmers and rural dwellers to be more careful where they leave their keys, to lock up the vehicles every night and close all farm and house gates while also using CCTV as a further deterrent.

Farmers have also been asked to report any suspicious movements around garages or sheds that might be used to store the stolen vehicles.

Detectives in Newry have asked anybody with information about stolen vehicles or parts to contact them.