Bogus gardai alert following incident in Duleek area

A county-wide warning has been issued about two men pretending to be gardaí, who recently called to an elderly woman trying to rob her. On Saturday 19th November, at around 8.30pm, two men approached the house of a female pensioner, who lives alone, in the Duleek area and introduced themselves as gardaí. Both men, whom gardaí believe are either in their late teens or early 20s, wore high-visibility vests with 'Garda' emblazoned on the front in blue lettering. It is as yet unclear whether or not the vests were proper garda issue that had been stolen or home-made versions of the offical hi-vis vests. It is not thought the two were in possession of garda uniforms. One of the two would-be thieves spoke "in a local" accent while the other remained silent throughout. It is believed the two were after light valuables such as cash and jewellery as they were initially quizzing the woman about items reported missing in the area. However, the woman became suspicious of the men and refused them entry to her home. The two relented and left the house in a car that is only described as a dark-coloured saloon. Gardaí say that at no point did the two, who appeared calm throughout, attempt to harm the woman or interfere with her property. Alarm After the two men left, the householder immediately raised the alarm and gardaí are urging anyone who suspects callers to be these two men, or otherwise bogus callers, to contact their local station immediately. No arrests have yet been made and Duleek Garda Station can be contacted on (041) 982 3222. "This could happen in any part of the country, not just the Duleek area," said Sergeant Dean Kerins, who is the crime prevention officer for the county. "People should be warned that some criminals - and this is getting more and more common recently - travel around in cars, so it might be Duleek today, then Kilmainhamwood and on over into Westmeath, you just don't know. So people throughout the county should be made aware of this. We're coming into the Christmas period, too, which is a time of year that thefts and burglaries increase. "If people spot these two, or suspicious activity regarding cars or persons, any incidents should be immediately reported to gardaí because that information is diseminated throughout the county on the Garda internal system so we'll all be made aware of it. People should be on their guard around the Christmas period and look out for each other's and their neighbour's property," said Sgt Kerins. While Sgt Kerins was relieved that the woman was uninjured, he urged friends and relatives of the elderly to make sure they are aware of the incident as they may too be targeted. "The elderly should make sure they press their 'mobile panic' buttons if they feel threatened or press their 'bogus' button before they open the doors to unknown persons. Please report any suspicious activity to your local station," he added. On Monday (28th November) Sgt Kerins established a community alert group for Robinstown, Kiltale, Kilmessan and Dunderry and tomorrow (Thursday 1st December) he will do the same for the Lobinstown region. For crime prevention updates for the county log on to Facebook's 'Meath Crime Prevention' page which, although newly established, already has over 100 subscribers.