https://www.thesun.ie/news/3874655/gardai-patricks-day-gang-targeting-tourists-dublin/MOB CRACKDOWN Gardai smash St Patrick’s Day professional robbery gang targeting tourists in cafes and restaurants in the heart of DublinThe Irish Sun on Sunday can reveal that the pair, both from Romania, were nabbed last monthEXCLUSIVE
By Stephen Breen, Crime Editor
17th March 2019, 8:30 am
GARDAI have smashed a professional theft gang targeting tourists in the heart of Dublin.
The Irish Sun on Sunday can reveal that the pair, both from Romania, were nabbed last month.
Officers from ‘Operation Pier’ at Pearse Street Garda station caught them after they were identified as suspects in 18 thefts from bars, cafes, coffee shops and restaurants in Temple Bar and other tourist hot-spots.
Gardai also established they had been using a French-registered car when on the prowl. Investigators believe the gang arrived in Ireland last month and were planning to stay here in the run up to St Patrick’s Day.
Among the items stolen were 13 phones worth €9,950. Wallets and handbags from restaurant goers were also pinched in the crime spree.
As part of their investigations into the gang, Gardai concluded the mob were “involved in distraction thefts, usually in cafes or restaurants, where there are large groups of people”.
They operate by placing a piece of paper over the phone, distracting the owner and then swiping it.