Thieves drive off with cars valued at €35k

Assistance is being sought for the recovery of two second hand cars stolen from a rural garage near Ballinagh.

The vehicles were taken from Galligan Motor's garage on the morning of April 29 at 12:20am. The thieves took a 2015 Toyota Avensis (152 CN 1698) and a 2018 Nissan Qashqai (181 KK 458).

“No success so far, we're not holding out much hope for seeing them ever again,” a disconsolate Peter Galligan says of the theft.

The garage owner was clearly shocked by the robbery of over €35,000 of his stock: “We are here 35 years and never had so much as one car taken before this,” he told the Celt.

The vehicles had been advertised on an online selling platform. Gardaí have reviewed CCTV from the area. Although it's been beneficial to their investigation the robbery took place in the early hours of the morning, this has implications for the quality of the footage.

Peter described the CCTV of the incident: “You can see them at exactly a quarter past twelve, they break the lock on the gate, walk in and get in the cars and drive off. You would not drive them out any quicker yourself if you had the keys. There was no struggle, no break in, they just broke the lock on the main gate and drove off.”

“I still have the keys of the car and the cars are gone,” he tells. “They would be worth around €35,000 between the two of them. It's a lot to lose. We have insurance, that will pay for some of it.”

The nature of the robbery suggests a level of professionalism: “They probably have someone to buy the cars before they steal them. They didn't steal them to bring them home and park them outside their house. They obviously have an outlet for them.”

Aside from the economic loss there are other impacts of the thefts: “It's a bit of fright to get. People breaking into your place here is not the norm. We live in a fierce quiet area. Customers come here to have their cars serviced and I can leave them out with the gate open and the keys in them. That is what we have been doing for the last 35 years, but we will just have to change our ways now.”

Peter says he will re-examine security in light of the robbery: “It was a lovely way to work, where you could trust people, but this shows it's changing times.”