Gardaí investigate link in burglaries at wealthy homes
Smurf it case comes weeks after woman was robbed of €60k jewels
GARDAÍ are investigating whether the burglary of €70,000 of jewellery from Norma Smurfit’s home is connected to similar burglaries of high-profile people.
An alarm was activated during the raid at charity campaigner Ms Smurfit’s home in Mount Merrion in Dublin 4 at around 9.30pm on Thursday.
No arrests have yet been made in relation to the burglary but gardaí are investigating if it is linked to another recent high-profile burglary in which a similar amount of jewellery was stolen.
In that case, a glamorous businesswoman was tied up, had her phone taken and was locked in a room while a gang of burglars raided her home and made off with €60,000 worth of jewellery.
The victim – who runs a success-
Woman locked in sitting room and phone taken
ful company with her husband – was discovered hours later by her adult daughter.
She was badly shaken following the traumatic raid last month and retreated to the Powerscourt Ritz Carlton Hotel along with her husband to recover.
The couple’s sprawling property in Wicklow was targeted by a gang of up to four men.
The businesswoman was alone in the house when the gang entered through a bedroom window.
Having been violently restrained, she was locked in her sitting room and her mobile phone was taken off her so that she could not raise the alarm.
The gang proceeded to ransack the house and steal the jewellery.
Although there is no confirmation that the same gang is responsible for both raids, wit- nesses reported seeing four men wearing baseball caps acting suspiciously on St Thomas Road in Mount Merrion after the burglary at Ms Smurfit’s home.
Detectives are investigating whether a well-organised gang has been targeting houses wealthy areas on the east coast.
According to the latest figures published by the Central Statistics Office, there were 26,430 burglary and related offences for the year ending June 30.
Ms Smurfit, who wed the then unknown Michael Smurfit when she was 21, is originally from London’s East End but has lived in Ireland for many years. The couple split in 1988.
She has helped raise millions for a number of Irish charities including the Irish Famine Fund as well as raising money to buy mini-buses for the blind and the Central Remedial Clinic.
Her other charity endeavours include setting up the Irish Youth Foundation, the Irish Arthritis Foundation and First Step which funds young entrepreneurs who do not have the equity to secure a bank loan.
She currently serves on the board of the Jefferson and Michael Smurfit Monegasque Foundation and is founder and director of The Irish Famine Commemoration Fund.
Ms Smurfit is also a council member of Gaisce – The President’s Awards.