Gardai uncover stolen cars operation in Navan

A Stolen car operation involving the theft of at least seven cars has been uncovered by Gardai in the Navan area. Three people were arrested, two of whom remained in custody at Navan and Trim Garda stations at time of going to press on Tuesday afternoon. Gardai had been carrying out a surveillance operation for a number of days at Graig"s Lane, off the Slane Road in Navan, and raided a premises at around 11pm on Monday night. Some 11 cars were found at the scene and seven of these have been confirmed stolen. It is understood that the cars were stolen in the general Navan area. Gardai are still continuing their enquiries into the other four vehicles and it is expected that they will also be confirmed stolen. The Stolen Car Squad from Harcourt Square in Dublin has been assisting Gardai in identifying the vehicles Two males and a female were arrested and were detained under Section Four of the Criminal Justice Act on suspicion of handling stolen property. One of the men is aged 26 with an address in Dunshaughlin, while the other man and the woman are both aged 22 and have addresses in Clonsilla, Dublin. The woman was released without charge at 1pm on Monday afternoon and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The other two men remained in custody at Navan and Trim Garda stations yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon. The scene at Graig"s Lane has been technically examined. The operation was headed by the Meath Divisional Drugs Unit, assisted by Navan Gardai. Meanwhile, Gardai are investigating a spate of car thefts in the Navan area in the past week. Last Thursday, a Volkswagen Beetle parked at the Meath County Council offices in Navan was broken into at around 3pm. The window was smashed and a handbag was taken from the vehicle. Gardai are also investigating break-ins to two cars parked at the Round O car park overnight between 17th and 18th April. The front driver"s window of a Volkswagen Polo was smashed and a radio was taken from the vehicle. Another vehicle was also broken into in the car park that night but no items were taken. Two other cars that were parked on the Fair Green, Navan, were also targeted on the same night. Again, a window was smashed and a JVC CD changer valued at €150 was stolen. A blue Nissan Almera was also broken into and a tax disc was taken from the vehicle but the disc was later recovered on a youth who was arrested in Blanchardstown. Trim Gardai are following a definite line of enquiry into the theft of a white Scania articulated truck from a yard in Longwood village on 15th April. The vehicle was recovered by Gardai in Monaghan four days later.