This article is from page 6 of the 2008-10-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
GARDAI believe that a Limerick gang was responsible for the rob- bery of the Ennis branch of super- market chain Lidl – it was the second time the store has been raided in 17 TneCOye ste
A sizable quantity of cash was taken in the raid at the Gort Road premises, which happened shortly after closing time, 9pm, last Tuesday evening.
Gardai believe that a gang of three or four masked men, wielding sledge hammers, broke into the premises,
forcing a door open with the imple- ments they were carrying.
While staff who were on the premises at the time were shaken by the ordeal, none of them was injured in the incident.
Gardai believe that the raiders were travelling in a UK registered silver Vauxhall Vectra car that had been stolen in Mitchelstown on Monday, and later found burnt out in Newport, County Tipperary on Wednesday.
‘There is a propensity to rob high value stores. This is actively under investigation and we are following a
number of lines of enquiry,” said En- nis Superintendent John Scanlan.
“This is a serious crime. We are very concerned that an attack of this nature would take place and we are appealing to retailers to be extra vigilant at closing time, in respect of suspicious activity,” he added.
Meanwhile, gardai are also con- cerned by a rise in the number of home burglaries in Ennis over the past fortnight. Several houses throughout the town have been tar- geted and valuables taken.
This comes in the wake of a report
from Eircom Phonewatch, which states that burglaries across Clare have almost doubled in the year up to June 2008, when compared with the previous 12-month period. In Clare, January was the month during which more burglars struck than in any oth- Hmmm 0eCO) OL O MME TB CO) er- NUR AME Ole K0)o\oi mma s-ks the most popular time of the year for home burglaries. Burglars targeted less in May, June and July than dur- ing the rest of the year.
The report also reveals that goods with an average value of almost €4.000 were taken from each home.