Three men in court after being stopped in Midlands hauling trailer full of allegedly stolen property

Three men arrested by gardaí in the Midlands in a van hauling a trailer with over €17,000 worth of allegedly stolen equipment have appeared in court.

Naas District Court was told last Friday that gardaí stopped the vehicle and trailer near Portlaoise shortly after 1am on September 29. 

Before the court were Gerry Knee, 33, whose address was given as 11 Coney Park, Coneyboro, Athy; William O’Reilly, 39, whose address was given as 5 Bridgeview, Cloverhill Road, Clondalkin and Edward Mooney, 34, whose address was given as 3 Bridgeview, Cloverhill Road, Clondalkin, charged with possession of stolen property and trespass.

Detective garda Paul Kelly told the court the vehicle was stopped at 1.15am at Ballydavis.

The garda said gloves and a mobile phone were discarded at the scene and recovered by gardaí.

The stolen trailer was carrying a power washer, a con saw, a skilsaw and a quad bike and these were recovered at the scene.

He estimated the value of the equipment at €17,600.

He added that gloves and a torch were found in the vehicle, a transit van, and he believed that the items were stolen at a Golden, County Tipperary, earlier that night.

Despite garda objections to the granting of bail, Judge Michele Finan remanded the three in custody with consent to bail, subject to a number of conditions.

The case was adjourned to Portlaoise District Court on October 6.