Neill O’Neill
A team of seven gardaí from Swinford swooped on addresses in Mullingar and Tullamore last week, following instances of ATM skimming in Swinford, Castlebar and Ballyhaunis.
Five men were arrested and three of them remain in custody and will appear in court in Tullamore again this week, after a substantial sum of cash and a large number of sophisticated skimming devices were found in the searches.
Gardaí are urging people to check their bank accounts and immediately report irregular transactions to their local Garda station and their bank. It was only after a vigilant member of the public became suspicious at the Bank of Ireland ATM in Swinford last Saturday week that Gardaí became aware that a gang of fraudsters were operating in the area. It was several days later before it came to light that banks in Castlebar and Ballyhaunis had also been targeted.
The three men in custody are Romanian nationals, while the two others that are helping Gardaí with their inquiries are from Turkey.
Superintendent Willie Keaveney of Swinford Garda Station said that Gardaí received some reliable information and were able to quickly progress their investigation from this, leading to the swift arrests. He urged people to be aware that this type of activity exists when they are using ATMs, and to report to the Gardaí at once anything that seems at all suspicious.
