Rally driver forced to buy back his stolen car

Rally driver forced to buy back his stolen car


Anton McNulty

A KILLALA rally driver who had his custom-built rally car stolen has blasted the Police Service of Northern Ireland for not investigating the theft even though the black and lime-green car was parked 150 yards from a police barracks.
Otto Groepler was forced to buy back his Ford Ka rally car from thieves despite the car being reported spotted in Northern Ireland just two days after the theft. The car along with a transport trailer and a Ford Transit van were stolen outside the Hillgrove Hotel in Monaghan on April 24 and was spotted being driven on the northern side of the border just two days later.
The PSNI were informed of the car’s whereabouts but despite the car being parked on the trailer just yards from the barracks they did nothing to recover the car. Days later the car was moved and when Otto was informed of its whereabouts it was forced to pay money to get it back.
“It is a total farce and joke to think the the car was roughly 150 yards from the barracks and the police knew it was stolen but did nothing about it. We had to end up buying back the car and while it wasn’t massive money I shouldn’t have to buy back my own car if the PSNI had done their job. They gave no reason for not recovering the car and I have never met people who are so uncooperative,” he told to The Mayo News.
Still angry and frustrated at the police’s inaction, Otto felt that if they had acted quickly they may have also located the Ford Transport. A fitter by trade, all Otto’s tools and spare parts worth thousands of euro were in the van and he losing hope on them being recovered.
Otto explained that he was contacted by a man who informed him that he had noticed the car being driven by people he knew were not into rallying just two days after it was stolen. He said the car was parked on the trailer and he informed the PSNI of its whereabouts. The man thought the police were monitoring the car but when it was eventually moved he made contact with Otto.
“We spent four days looking for it in Northern Ireland and after making enquiries we made contacted the people who stole it, who had sold it on. We had to pay for the car but the trailer was gone and if the police had done their job we would have got the car and the trailer.”
To make matters worse there was up to €9,000 worth of damage done to the car, with items stolen from it and the new engine damaged. He said he were trying to repair the car and thanked his sponsors Wilton Waste Recycling and G&G Engineering, Killala for their support but needed more sponsorship to get back rallying.