This article is from page 4 of the 2008-10-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
has learned that garda management have pledged to put additional garda resources in place in an effort to tackle the prob- lem and clamp down on travelling om enebett vice Conmen, posing as businessmen, are pushing their way into people’s
homes and getting their hands on THON oA
They are especially targeting eld- erly men or women living alone in rural areas in the Turlough/Belhar- bour/Newquay area.
In one incident, an elderly man was robbed of thousands of euro after a man pretending to be a television re- pair man called to his home.
A Dublin man in his 40s was ar- rested and questioned in connection with this incident. A file has been sent to the DPP.
In another incident, a man in his 60s was struck twice by a conman who called to his house and demand-
ed money from him. He claimed he was a medical doctor.
That matter is actively being inves- tigated. No-one has been arrested in connection with that incident.
Ennistymon Superintendent Gabri- el O’Gara is warning that conmen are travelling around the area. He said while the problem “is not rampant”, there have been worrying incidents in recent weeks.
“It is very isolated up there. No doubt about it, it is because of the ge- ographic location. They are looking for isolated places. They are picking their targets. We are trying to get more patrols up there,” he said.
“If anybody is calling around pre- tending to be a doctor or health of- ficial, don’t let them pass the front door until they show identification. Do not entertain any of these peo- ple,” said Supt O’Gara.
He is encouraging people living in rural areas to engage in community alert programmes.
“Report anything suspicious. If you are unsure about someone, pick up the phone and ring your local garda,” he said.
Gardai in north Clare are also in- vestigating a spate of thefts from cars and break-ins to holiday homes in the Ballyvaughan area in recent weeks.