Anton McNulty
A ‘substantial’ amount of cash was taken from the safe of a popular Ballinrobe pub on Saturday morning in what was described as ‘a very organised and professional crime’.
On Saturday morning thieves broke into Art O’Neill’s pub on Abbey Street in Ballinrobe at around 6am and removed a safe which had been secured to a wall in the pub. The culprits were disturbed by the owner on their exit from the building and on their escape drove the wrong way down a one-way street.
CCTV footage in Ballinrobe captured a dark coloured car travelling down Main Street which is a one-way street towards the Neale Road at 6.15am. The footage showed a car travelling in the opposite direction flashing its lights at this car and there was also a pedestrian on the street.
Gardaí believe the getaway car may have been a Saab and are asking people who may have noticed it to contact the gardaí.
“We are hoping that the driver who flashed his lights at this car can come forward and help us put a make on this car. We would like the pedestrian who was on the street to come forward and they might help us in relation to the burglary. Somebody who was out around that time or earlier may have seen something suspicious and we ask them to get in touch with gardaí,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson explained that the coverage of the security camera on the street did not show that registration number of the car but it is believed that there were two men in it. They were also trying to determine which direction the car went after leaving the town.
Gardaí investigating the burglary explained that the safe was the only item stolen and they believe the thieves knew what they were looking for.
“The amount of money take is undisclosed at the moment but it would have been fairly substantial. The safe was in a secure room and it was wedged from a wall. This seems to have been a professional and well organised crime and we would presume that the premises would have been staked out beforehand. They were only looking for the cash and did not take any drink or cigarettes.”
The theft of the safe follows similar burglaries in Castlebar when a safe containing cash was taken from Staunton’s Costcutter on Main Street on St Stephen’s Day and another safe was taken from the GMIT campus on January 21. On both occasions a substantial amount of cash was taken and the thefts took place in the early hours of the morning. There have also been incidents where there have been failed attempts to take safes from businesses.
Sergeant Tony Cosgrove, the Crime Prevention Officer said that businesses needed to ensure the safes are properly secured and bolted to prevent them from being taken.
My advice would be to have your safe bolted into a solid wall or into a concrete floor. If they are fitted properly they will be secure but if they are old and only screwed into a wall they can be easily prized out. People should pay at least €1,000 plus for a good heavy safe if they are holding cash on their premises. It is no use trying to save money if it can be easily stolen,” he said.
