Gang raids Enniscrone shop

A shop owner and county councillor whose shop was raided in a ‘professional hit’ says these gangs were roaming the towns and villages of rural areas in the county and were getting away with it due to lack of Gardaí.

Councillor Joe Queenan’s shop, ‘Checkout’ in Enniscrone was broken into in the early hours of Good Friday morning with a large amount of cigarettes being stolen.

The break-in was reported to the Gardai on Good Friday morning when staff went to open up the premises.

Councillor Queenan says he and his staff have been left upset and in shock.

Cllr Queenan told The Sligo Champion that he had suffered a substantial loss but the exact cost of the lost products had not been calculated yet.

“The break-in happened at 2am on Good Friday when the burglars cut down the security wires outside the store.

“It all seems very professional as they first cut down all the wires of the alarm system and security system and then lifted the shutter to get into the store.

“They stole packs of cigarettes stored at two different locations and they also took with them the hard disc of the CCTV and alarm system which could have provided the gardai with evidence.

“Now the gardai are trying to find any other camera footage in the surrounding area that might have recorded anything related to the incident.”

Recent CSO figures revealed there was a 22 per cent increase in thefts in the North West region in the last three months of 2023.

Cllr Queenan said: “The level of crime in recent times have increased and thefts from retail businesses has gone up as well.

“Now we see professional gangs like these are out on the roads of Ireland in the early hours who can surpass all the security arrangements and systems that are supposed to keep the properties secure.

“There have been many cases of houses or shops broken into in West Sligo but we don’t see many criminals being apprehended or jailed for such crimes.

“I think that the closing of rural garda stations around the country has made it easier for these criminals to drive around without being apprehended.”

Cllr Queenan further added that a similar case was reported in South Sligo where the wires were cut and alarm system and security footage was stolen.

“Nobody has been apprehended in that case either. The investigations are ongoing and my shop is back open again while we are dealing with the shock.”