Mayo Gardaí warn agri suppliers to be vigilant of fraudulent activity

Gardaí in Mayo have warned agricultural suppliers to be vigilant when selling goods after a number of recent incidents where they were targeted by unscrupulous criminals.

The warning has been made following a number of incidents in the west of Ireland including one which occurred in Belmullet where €6,000 worth of cow mats were stolen.

The incident occurred on April 18 last when an agri supplier in the Belmullet area reported the agreed sale of cow mats to the value of €6,000. The alleged purchaser forwarded alleged proof of payment and collected the mats. However, the money has not come through and with no goods returned, the seller is now at a loss.

In a separate incident earlier this month, an agri supplier in the Strokestown area advertised a tri-axle cattle trailer for sale on DoneDeal and was contacted by a buyer, with a northern accent. A price of €8,500 was agreed for the trailer with the buyer sending a picture of a bank draft for that amount to the seller. They arranged for another male to collect the trailer on July 24 but bank draught did not arrive and the seller is now at a loss.

Sergeant Seán Cunnane, Crime Prevention Officer is warning agri suppliers to follow a number of steps when selling goods to avoid them being the targets of crime. He said that they should conduct thorough background checks on potential buyers and use secure and traceable payment methods such as bank transfers, credit cards or trusted escrow services.

They should avoid accepting personal cheques or cash from unknown buyers and for large orders, require a deposit or partial payment upfront before shipping/collection of the goods.

Sgt Cunnane asked any agri supplier who may encounter suspicious behaviour or believe they are the target of fraud to contact An Garda Síochána on 999.