Galway a destination for phone theft 'tourism'
Galway has become a destination for mobile phone theft ‘tourism’, according to the county’s top Garda.
Garda Chief Superintendent Tom Curley warned how thieves from an unnamed foreign country were getting cheap flights to travel to Ireland with the sole purpose of stealing mobile phones.
Speaking at a Galway City Joint Policing Committee meeting, he said a gang of thieves would fly in for the weekend and target an Irish city, including Galway.
The thieves would ‘hit’ Galway City’s top nightclubs, ‘super-pubs’ and busy bars, lifting 20 or 25 phones.
He said that mobile phones, which are quite advanced now technologically, can be valued at between €600 and €1,000.
“There has been a big increase in thefts of mobile phones . . . but we have had some major successes in that area,” he said, adding there was co-operation with publicans in tackling the issue.