BREAKING: Gardai raid second Limerick halting site in a week in planned operation
A number of temporary dwellings were removed from private land in Castletroy, say gardai
GARDAI in Limerick have raided a second halting site in the space of a week in a planned operation.
Last Tuesday, gardaí from the Limerick Crime Unit, supported by multiple agencies and specialist units, conducted a planned operation in the Childers Road area of the city. It was part of "ongoing investigations into the activities of an organised criminal group operating in Limerick", said a garda spokesperson
This Tuesday morning, gardai targeted a halting site off the Dublin Road in Castletroy. A number of caravans had been moved into a field in recent months with their owners setting up home.
A video, widely shared on social media, shows a cavalcade of garda vans, jeeps and cars - patrol and unmarked - entering the field.
Following a media query, a spokesperson confirmed gardaí in Limerick conducted an operation in Castletroy this morning.
“A number of temporary dwellings were removed from private land, in accordance with the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994, as amended, following a criminal complaint,” said the garda spokesperson.
They continued: “No arrests have been made at this time. No property has been seized at this time. The investigation is ongoing."
Separately, an incident of criminal damage is understood to have taken place last August at the same location off the Dublin Road in Castletroy that was targeted this Tuesday.
A video, which was shared on social media in August, shows a group of men armed with weapons breaking the windows of a caravan and damaging a van. The incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday, August 23.
A garda spokesperson said at the time: “Damage was caused to a caravan. The location is under examination by crime scene investigators.
“No injuries have been reported to gardaí at this time. Enquiries into these incidents are ongoing."