Andrew Carey
A GANG of criminals from county Limerick have been linked to the Dublin men held in connection with the raid on the home of a business man and his family in Tipperary in the early hours of this Thursday morning.
Seven men from a Dublin gang are in custody and likely to be charged in the next 24 hours with the aggravated burglary and assaults of a business man and his family in Killenaule, Thurles, Co Tipperary.
Shortly after 3am the seven armed and masked raiders broke into the home of Mark and Emma Corcoran where they run an adjacent bedding a gym equipment business. The couple have three daughters under the age of eight.
The gang, from Coolock in Dublin, who have been targeted by An Gardai Siochana in a year long operation, have terrorised people up and down the country in hold ups and raids.
Gardai now understand that criminals from Rathkeale had been buying bedding furniture and goods from the Corcoran business in Burnchurch, Killenaule and reselling it to others in the Midlands and North Tipperary.
During this period, Gardai believe that the County Limerick travelling gang were giving the information of movements, contents and surveillance of the Corcoran’s business to the Dublin gang who carried out the terrifying attack this Thursday.
Mr Corcoran was beaten with the base of a shotgun and suffered a broken nose while his family were terrorised during the ordeal.
The raiders then ransacked the house before making off with a small amount of cash and jewellery. They fled in a Volkswagen Passat and also took the Corcoran family car, a Kia Sorrento SUV.
A cross country high speed car chase ensued and five men were apprehended at at 4:30am near Naas while the other two were stopped at Newlands Cross at 9am.
All seven have been detained for questioning and are likely to be charged in the next 24 hours as the provisions of their legal detention will expire.
Chief Superintendent Dave Sheahan had told a meeting of the Joint Policing Committee recently that criminals from Dublin gangs had been using the exits off the motorway network to raid homes in Limerick and senior gardai in the capital have been actively targeting the Coolock based gang who have operated in a similar fashion.
A full investigation is underway and all divisional units of An Garda Siochana are involved in the matter.
