Gardaí have issued an appeal for witnesses and dashcam footage following a spate of five burglaries in border areas of Donegal.
Cash, jewellery and work equipment were taken during the incidents between Friday 25th and Monday 28th February. Gardai believe the break-ins may be linked.
The first burglary occurred in Lifford at a home on the Coneyburrow Road on Friday between 4.40pm and 7.30pm.
The back door to the property was forced open and the house was ransacked. A sum of cash and a number of items of jewellery were stolen, including a gold locket containing a photo, a gold signet ring containing a stone, a pearl ring, a gold bracelet with an engraving of Peter, a wedding ring, an eternity ring, two gold charm bracelets, one with a red vase charm and a horseshoe charm.
In Druminor, Buncrana, a business premises was broken into sometime between 5pm Friday and 6am Monday morning. Entry was gained via the rear door and steel rods, a Milwaukee battery and a Milwaukee radio were taken.
On Saturday, 26th February, a home in the Moness Cottages area or Burt was broken into while the resident was at Mass. This burglary took place between the hours of 5.45pm and 6.40pm, when the front door was forced open.. Gardaí say the property was searched, but nothing was taken.
Also on Saturday evening, a home in Elaghbeg, Burnfoot was targetted between 6.50pm and 7.10pm. The rear window of the house was forced open and entry was gained. A pair of Gucci sunglasses was stolen from the property.
The fifth burglary was reported on Main Street Newtowncunningham between 6am Saturday 26th February and 4.20pm Sunday 27th February. The window at side of a house was forced open and damage caused to some interior doors after entry was gained. A small amount of cash was stolen.
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who noticed any suspicious activity in the affected areas over the weekend to get in touch with their local garda station.
Garda Niall Maguire commented that neighbourhood knowledge is often a key part of the investigations: “We solve a lot of these as a result of neighbours calling us in relation to suspicious vehicles or persons, they are the eyes and ears that usually solve these for the guards.
“We have other assistance, people caught on the road network by our traffic corps and have stolen goods or we have intelligence in relation to these people.”
The advice for homeowners is to light up and store valuables carefully.
- Turn on some lights
- Use timer switches
- Lock all doors and windows
- Use an alarm
- Store keys away from windows
- Don’t keep large amounts of cash or jewellery in the house.
- Report any suspicious activity in your area to Gardaí immediately.
