Knock Airbnb used by criminal gang to rob almost 20 houses

MEMBERS of one of Ireland’s most prolific burglary gangs used an Airbnb rental near Knock as a base to carry out burglaries at almost 20 homes in under five days.

The Dublin-based gang used the property as a base to target unoccupied houses in counties Roscommon, Galway and Mayo, according to a report in the Irish Independent.

The innocent host of the property was unaware that the gang were staying at the house at the time. 

Investigations have revealed that up to eight gang members stayed in the property for less than a week before carrying out around 20 break-ins at unoccupied houses. 

It is understood the highly organised gang used three different cars during their crime spree and wore camouflage clothing and wellington boots. The gang also walked through wet fields before breaking into houses that were mostly in isolated rural areas.

Officers located the Airbnb being used as a hub by the criminals and set up a special arrest operation.

However, the gang never returned to the property. No arrests have yet been made in the major investigation.

Extra dedicated anti-burglary garda patrols have been set up in the area after the break-ins earlier this month.

This comes as gardaí have announced the winter phase of ‘Operation Thor’ - an ongoing enforcement operation aimed at preventing burglars from exploiting the reduced daylight hours. 

“In the eight years since Operation Thor was introduced, burglary and related offences have declined overall. A total 4,595 burglaries were recorded during the last winter phase of the operation – a reduction of 4,118 from the same period in 2019,” a garda spokeswoman said.

“Between April and August of this year there were 2,230 reported residential burglaries nationwide.

“This is a marked reduction on the number which occurred during the 2022 summer phase of Operation Thor (3,067 residential burglaries).”

The spokeswoman added: “During the winter period, burglary on a premises or property is still most likely to occur between 5pm and 9pm on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday.”