Gardaí have arrested a 40-year-old man in connection with a car hijacking in Co Tipperary and a car theft in Co Cork on Sunday.
Detectives arrested the suspect at an address in Midleton in east Cork at around 8am on Wednesday.
The car theft happened when a man approached a boy in a car at the Circle K garage in Midleton at around 9am after the child’s father had gone into the shop to pay for petrol.
He ordered the boy from the car and then drove away at speed in the vehicle. The boy was uninjured but was left shaken.
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The suspect then drove to Roscrea in North Tipperary where he abandoned the car before hijacking another, a blue Kia Sorento estate at around 5pm.
The man approached the owner of the car, a local businessman in his 50s and threatened him with a knife, demanding his wallet but instead ordered him from the car and drove off.
Gardaí in Tipperary put out an alert asking people for information about the stolen Kia Sorento. Gardai in Midleton subsequently identified the car and moved to arrest the suspect.
Detectives from Tipperary have travelled to Cork to interview the suspect who is also being questioned by local detectives in Midleton.
The garda press office confirmed a man had been arrested for questioning about both crimes and was being held in Co Cork.
He was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act which allows gardaí hold suspects for up to 24 hours before they must be charged or released.
