Gardai arrested a woman at the Sinn Fein offices in Tralee at the weekend while she was allegedly handing back stolen property to be returned to its owner.
The woman was identified as a suspect in the theft of two mobile phones and arrested by members of the Garda Crime Unit, Insp Martin McCarthy said, and was being followed before she entered the Sinn Fein offices. She was later released, and a file is being prepared for the DPP.
This is the latest run-in between gardai and Sinn Fein in Kerry North over the party's activity in recovering stolen property and handing it back to its owners. A report on Sinn Fein's activities is being studied by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, who has accused the party of vigilantism.
A Sinn Fein councillor and general election candidate in Kerry North, Mr Martin Ferris, denied vigilantism or interfering with Garda investigations. He said it was incumbent on politicians to act for the public in tackling crime. And he said his party would continue to help the public in this manner.
The incident occurred on Saturday evening. Earlier that day Mr Ferris had been approached by a Tralee businessman who asked him if he could get the SIM cards from two mobile phones stolen from his van on Friday evening. The man was able to give the name of the person who he believed was involved in the theft.
Mr Ferris then approached the woman, who knew that person. He was upstairs when she called to the Sinn Fein office. He heard a commotion and witnessed the arrest.
The businessman had also approached gardai that morning, he said. But he had had a number of break-ins, and no property had been recovered, and this was why he had approached Sinn Fein, Mr Ferris said.