A probationer garda has been arrested for theft from a garda station in the south of the country.
The garda, who is aged in his twenties, has also been suspended from the force pending investigation. He is accused of stealing a small sum of money from his Garda station on Thursday.
The money was allegedly taken from a lost wallet which had been handed in to the station by a member of the public. The garda was allegedly spotted on CCTV taking money from the wallet.
The member has recently completed his training at Templemore and is still on probation. All new recruits must serve two years' probation before becoming full members.
A garda spokesman confirmed the suspect was arrested under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. The garda was arrested at his home station before being taken to another garda station in the district for interview by a more senior member of the force.
He has since been release and a file is currently being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions, a spokesman said.
Last year it was revealed that money confiscated by gardaí went missing or was stolen on more than a dozen occasions over a three-year period.
Between January 1st, 2015, and December 31st, 2017, 14 sums of money confiscated by gardaí as part of investigations disappeared from the evidence storage facilities of stations around the country.
