Garda crime crackdown nets more than 30 arrests

Gardaí have arrested 34 people in connection with various criminal offences as part of “Project Storm” focused on Co Kilkenny.

The arrests followed a day of intensive Garda activity and are for a range of offences, including thefts, assaults, fraud, burglary and drugs.

Project Storm is part of the wider Operation Thor, an ongoing campaign of Garda deployment aimed at crime prevention and disruption, as well as arresting criminals wanted on warrants. It also seeks to enhance relations with the public.

Between 8am and 5pm on Wednesday in the Thomastown District of the Kilkenny Carlow division, officers conducted a number of planned searches.

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In total 12 properties were targeted with seven found to contain drugs.

Operation Thor

Gardaí say 21 of those arrested have been charged and will appear at local sittings of Kilkenny District Court in the coming weeks.

Although activity focused on Co Kilkenny, arrests were also made in counties Monaghan, Carlow and Dublin. Of those arrested, 24 related to existing warrants.

“Garda personnel monitored Operation Thor targets and the activities of local criminals by means of checkpoints,” said gardaí.

Vehicles fitted with Automatic Number Plate Recognition devices were deployed on motorway off-ramps to identify suspected and known criminals entering the district.

As part of the operation there was a high visibility Garda presence in the area and several exercises in community engagement, including with local businesses and schools.

A total of 25 trainee guards from the Garda College in Templemore assisted with the operation.