Prolific burglars now operating with same sophistication as drugs gangs - Garda

Prolific burglary gangs are as organised as drugs gangs and often import high-powered cars for the purposes of planned burglaries based on detailed surveillance, a senior Garda officer who investigates organised crime has said.

Det Supt Seamus Boland of the Garda’s Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau said the more organised burglary gangs at times planned several burglaries in the same location, going on the spree on one night and then fleeing via the motorway network. And while a number of those gangs have been caught and jailed in recent years, others are still operating across the country and even internationally.

“When they arrive in an area, they are capable of committing multiple burglaries at a time, with the use of high-powered vehicles that are often stolen, sometimes imported, and false registered using the same methodology as drugs trafficking gangs and other organised crime groups,” he said.

They select a property to target, through surveillance, with the address passed on, via pin drops, to their accomplices along with any other information required for those carrying out the burglary. They operate in that way in every county in Ireland and are often “in and out of a house in a matter of minutes”.

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Mr Boland was speaking at the launch in Dublin of the Garda’s winter phase of Operation Thor, which seeks to identify and target prolific gangs and raise awareness around the heightened risk of being burgled during the winter months. He recommended householders leave lights on, including using timers, as well as ensuring all doors and windows were locked.

Many people have invested in new windows and doors that are more secure in recent years, as well as security equipment such as doorbells fitted with a CCTV camera, all of which deter burglars. However, gangs were determined and most were looking for cash and jewellery, while others were seeking keys to vehicles, which he said should not be stored where they could be seen by somebody outside the property.

The number of burglaries recorded in the State peaked in the modern era at 28,466 in 2012. In 2015, when Operation Thor was launched, 26,321 burglaries were recorded, declining since then to 9,465 incidents last year.

Mr Boland said people were now “more educated and aware” about the threat of burglary, and overall were better at securing their properties. He said when Operation Thor was established, a large number of prolific gangs were targeted and some jailed for long periods. In some cases, those gangs were responsible for so many burglaries, their capture was followed by a noted reduction in the crime in some areas in the following months.

“We have used organised crime legislation and resources to tackle our inter-regional burglary gangs to the same extent we have used to target feuding drug trafficking gangs,” he said.

Local lower level burglars “wander around their town” looking for premises to burgle based on the “path of least resistance”; avoiding properties that look secure in favour of easier targets. These could include open windows, unlocked doors and car keys being left in a hallway, meaning they could be stolen via a letter box.

Mr Boland said most burglaries were carried out between 5pm and 9pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. International research showed burglaries could increase by 20 per cent during the winter months, when gangs sought to exploit the additional hours of darkness as cover for their crimes. However, to the end of October, burglaries in the Republic had decreased by 14 per cent, to 4,673 offences recorded.

A burglary was “deeply traumatic” for any victim and the “invasion of privacy” involved often resulted in “the place never feeling comfortable to a victim again”, even if nothing of value was stolen. The actions of “despicable” gangs often led to heightened fears, especially for the elderly and those living in rural areas.

The Garda regularly liaise with Europol, which “has an interest” in travelling organised crime groups, operating on an all-Ireland basis and in Europe. The Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) also regularly targets those in burglary gangs.