A Dublin-wide search by gardai yesterday for stolen vehicles led to the seizure of 27 motorcycles, 18 of which were confirmed to have been stolen and a further nine were without insurance or tax, writes Jim Cusack.
The operation was mounted at the direction of Assistant Commissioner Jim McHugh in response to the large number of motorcycles stolen annually in the capital.
A number of professional criminal gangs have been specialising in stealing and reselling falsely documented motorcycles. Last year 528 were stolen in Dublin and only seven recovered.
In 1997 some 2,450 vehicles from motorcycles to lorries were stolen, an increase of 38 per cent on the previous year. Gardai believe criminal gangs involved in robbery and burglary in the past have switched to vehicle theft in the past two years.
The new asset-seizure laws have made the holding of other stolen goods risky. Stolen vehicles can be reconverted and sold back on to the second-hand market in a short time, reducing the chances of arrest.
There were calls to RTE from some motorcycle couriers who reported they had been stopped on several occasions.