Donegal gardai probing ‘hundreds’ of fraud crimes

‘Hundreds’ of cases of fraud are currently being investigated by gardai in Donegal.

The staggering revelation was made at the latest meeting of the Donegal Joint Policing Committee (JPC) in Lifford on Friday.

Sinn Féin Deputy Pearse Doherty raised the issue of fraud crimes being a ‘massive issue’ across the country.

A dedicated fraud unit is operating at Letterkenny Garda Station, but just three members are on the unit, one of whom is currently off on maternity leave.

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Chief Superintendent Aidan Glacken told a meeting of the Donegal Joint Policing Committee (JPC) on Friday that some families in the Donegal Garda Division are paying off drug debts for their children

Letterkenny-based Superintendent Goretti Sheridan said there are ‘hundreds’ of ongoing cases.

“There is a lot of work involved in it,” Superintendent Sheridan said. “The DPP have directed every pertinent charges against a number of individuals.

“These types of investigations are very technical. They can take members across the country and into other jurisdictions.”

Chief Superintendent Aidan Glacken said money laundering is ‘central’ to organised crime.

He said: “A lot of the preventing is around awareness. We have an economic crime bureau and regional cyber units and they are all of assistance. This sort of crime can be international.”

Deputy Doherty told the meeting that thousands of people are being scammed each year in Ireland.

“These people are in Donegal as much as any other area,” he said. “People have been hit by tens of thousands in romance fraud. These should be part of statistics as it is a growing area.

“There are also a large number of people who don’t report this sort of fraud.”

Deputy Doherty said there has been a whopping 560 per rise in the crime of account takeover in Ireland over the last three years.

“It is a growing area and it is organised criminals preying on vulnerable people,” he said, commending gardai in Donegal who have successfully prosecuted individuals who were acting as so-called ‘money mules’.