Kildare man appears in court following alleged crime spree across the north west

A County Kildare man has appeared in court in to face charges arising from a garda investigation into an organised crime gang which is allegedly operating across the north west.

The man was arrested, along with two juveniles, who are also from Kildare, in connection with investigations into burglary, theft and organised criminal activity in Counties Sligo, Donegal, Leitrim, Roscommon and Cavan.

James Lynch, aged 44, of Our Lady’s Place, Naas, County Kildare, is charged with three counts of burglary, three counts of theft and one count of participating in and facilitating organised crime.

Barrister Kathleen Henry, represented Mr Lynch during the procedural hearing at Carrick-on-Shannon District Court in Leitrim.

READ NEXT: Kildare driver accused of recording Garda incident.  

Two juveniles, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also appeared before the court to face charges in connection with the investigation.

One juvenile is charged with two counts of burglary, three counts of theft and one count of participating in organised criminal activity.

The second juvenile is charged with three counts of burglary, seven counts of theft, and one count of participating in organised criminal activity.

One of the incidents allegedly involved the theft of a safe containing approximately €10,000 from Dowra Mart in Cavan. An attempted theft at Lissadell House in Sligo was also referenced during the proceedings.

Detective Sergeant Ray Mulderry said it will be alleged by gardai that the defendants were “active participants” in the offences.

He said it gardai believe the crime group has been operating since the beginning of the year and that it has been active across counties in the north west.

“This is part of our approach to dealing with groups who come into counties and engage in crimes of this nature,” he said.

“We treat them as organised crime gangs and investigate them and prosecute them as such.”

Detective Sergeant Mulderry said the investigation had identified an organised crime group as being involved in multiple incidents and that gardaí were reacting as part of efforts to disrupt organised criminal activity.

Mr Lynch, who was remanded in custody, is due to appear again before Sligo District Court again on Thursday, February 26.

The two juveniles were also remanded in custody pending DPP's directions.