Latest news with #SéamusBoland
Irish Post
12 hours ago
- Irish Post
New crime figures show a steep rise in arson and fraud in Ireland
FRAUD offences have risen in the first half of the year, with new Garda figures showing a 73% increase compared to last year. The major rise, detailed in provisional crime statistics released by An Garda Síochána, shows a complex picture of criminal activity across Ireland. The sharpest rise among fraud categories was in forgery and the use of false instruments, which rose by 200%. Other major increases included deception-related offences, which are up nearly 180%. Online shopping fraud rose 166%, and money laundering increased by 82%. Lesser but still notable increases included bogus tradesmen scams, up 57%; accommodation fraud, 22%, and account takeover fraud, 18%. Despite the general rise in certain areas of crime, some categories did see dips. Phishing incidents fell by more than a quarter, while reports of counterfeit currency dropped by 88%. Insurance fraud also saw a marked 45% reduction. Surprisingly, arson rates have surged, and it now ranks as the second-fastest-growing crime in Ireland, increasing by 20% compared to the first six months of 2024. However, other criminal damage incidents fell by 14%, suggesting that the rise in arson may reflect more targeted or deliberate actions rather than a broader pattern of property-related crime. Sexual offences continue on an upward trend, with a 4% increase in rape reports and a 7% rise in non-aggravated sexual assault cases. Gardaí reported a 16% decline in child sexual abuse material and related offences, though they acknowledged that overall reports of sexual offences had risen nationally compared to 2024. Meanwhile, Gardaí are intensifying their efforts to dismantle high-level burglary gangs that are believed to be responsible for a significant portion of break-ins across the country. Detective Chief Superintendent Séamus Boland of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) revealed that half a dozen gangs, mainly from Dublin and Kildare, are under active investigation. 'These are not your average opportunistic burglars,' Boland said. 'They are professional, organised, and undeterred by alarms, CCTV or even dogs. They will target high-security homes without hesitation.' He explained that when such gangs are intercepted, local burglary rates often plummet for months. Under Operation Thor , the national initiative targeting burglary networks, residential burglaries have dropped by 13% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, with an average of 14 break-ins per day across Ireland. Intelligence-sharing with police in Britain and Ireland has become crucial, as some criminal groups relocate abroad when pressure intensifies in Ireland. Beyond fraud and burglary, road traffic collisions were down 2%, with over 22,000 incidents reported by the end of June. However, driving while intoxicated rose by 8%, reflecting ongoing concerns around road safety enforcement. Between January and June 2025, Gardaí made over 27,000 arrests and filed more than 67,000 criminal charges. Certain crimes such as burglary and insurance fraud are falling due to targeted operations and preventive measures, but the explosion in financial and cyber fraud presents a new and complicated threat to Ireland and its people. See More: An Garda Síochána, Arson, Crime, Fraud, Police
Sunday World
17 hours ago
- Sunday World
Six burglary gangs behind nationwide crime sprees
Break-in gangs launch raids from bases in Dublin and Kildare Detective Chief Superintendent Séamus Boland, of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), said the six most prominent burglary gangs were separate to the 22 'top-tier' drugs and firearm organisations the bureau is also investigating. They don't care about dogs, alarms or CCTV – that stuff does not stop them 'The issue with them is some of them will operate across groups as well at a national level,' he said. 'They don't care about dogs, alarms or CCTV – that stuff does not stop them and some of the houses that they burgle will have dogs in them and the highest-spec alarm and CCTV systems – they don't care about it.' The senior detective pointed out that this is in marked contrast to 'opportunistic burglars' who are put off by such security arrangements that are becoming much more common in Irish households, something he welcomes. 'We have seen when there is spikes in burglaries in an area and when we intercept a high-level burglary gang and we take them out of the system, burglaries practically stop for a three-month period in that area,' Det Chief Supt Boland said. The bureau has a specific role in Operation Thor – the nationwide garda operation targeting burglary gangs – which involves 'strategic national oversight and co-ordination', including identifying the gangs that are involved. This involves a lot of analysis and regular conferences with gardaí across the country. Detective Chief Superintendent Séamus Boland. Photo: Collins Det Chief Supt Boland said that there had been a 75pc reduction in domestic burglaries since Operation Thor's introduction 10 years ago. Last year saw an increase however, with break-ins up by 10pc in the 12 months to September 2024, with aggravated burglaries increasing by 15pc. In that time period there were 9,981 reported burglaries, more than 27 every day, according to CSO figures, but the numbers have since reduced again. New provisional crime figures for the first six months of 2025 show that residential burglaries fell by 13pc when compared to the first six months of 2024. This is an average of 14 residential burglaries per day across the 26 counties. 'A lot of analysis happens in relation to Operation Thor, not only the trends that are happening but who are the actual organised crime groups, the inter-regional travelling groups that are engaging in this type of crime,' Det Chief Supt Boland said. We are targeting the right people, the right groups, they are being targeted here 'When those groups are identified, it is our role to ensure that they are targeted with all the resources available to the organisation,' he said pointing out some gangs are 'of such high risk' that the GNDOCB tackle them themselves. 'We are targeting the right people, the right groups, they are being targeted here. We are sharing all our information with our colleagues in the PSNI, in the UK and across the rest of Europe because some of these groups will commit burglaries here and then when the heat comes on them, they will move to locations such as Northern Ireland, and then London in particular.' Det Chief Supt Boland said there had been 'significant detections' recently in this jurisdiction, the UK and Northern Ireland targeting the organised burglary groups. 'The reality is we have deployed the same resources to tackle these burglary gangs as we have deployed to tackle organised crime murder teams. That is how serious we are about tackling domestic burglaries across the country.' He said such robberies had a distressing effect on victims. While Det Chief Supt Boland did not name any of the six main burglary gangs, many are associated with burglary gang boss 'Fat' Andy Connors, who was shot dead outside his Saggart home in 2014 in an unsolved murder. 'Fat' Andy Connors The Sunday World has also learned that in recent weeks a serial criminal aged 41 who is based in Naas, has been embarking on a massive burglary campaign in counties such as Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim and Cavan. Meanwhile, new provisional crime statistics published today from the first half of this year recorded a 73pc rise in crimes categorised as 'fraud offences'. The number of sexual offences reported to gardaí also increased in the first six months of the year when compared to the same period in 2024, garda statistics show. Reports of rape are up 4pc while sexual assault reports are up 7pc.
Extra.ie
19 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Average of 14 burglaries taking place across Ireland daily
Provisional crime figures for the opening six months of 2025 have revealed that an average of 14 residential burglaries take place daily across the Republic of Ireland. This figure is down by 13% compared to the first six months of 2024. Six leading burglary gangs have been identified by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), with the groups operating nationwide. Provisional crime figures for the opening six months of 2025 have revealed that an average of 14 residential burglaries take place daily across the Republic of Ireland. Pic: Getty Images Detective Chief Superintendent Séamus Boland says the gangs are based in Dublin and Kildare but target homes and businesses across the country. The Irish Independent report that Det. Supt Boland said: 'They don't care about dogs, alarms or CCTV — that stuff does not stop them and some of the houses that they burgle will have dogs in them and the highest-spec alarm and CCTV systems — they don't care about it.' This is in contrast to smaller-scale burglars who are more put off by a home's security features. This is in contrast to smaller-scale burglaries who are more put off by a homes security features. Pic: Chakrapong Worathat/ EyeEm/Getty Images Operation Thor is the nationwide garda operation targeting burglary gangs with domestic burglaries reduced by 75% since its launch ten years ago. The Detective Superintendent explained that 'a lot of analysis' takes place in regard to the operation in a bid to identify trends and groups. He added that Gardaí were taking home burglaries as seriously as organised crime murder teams. Among the shops targeted is the Asics shop on O'Connell Street, which earlier this year was looted for the third time since it opened in 2020. Pic: Stephen Collins/ Collins Photos Among the shops which have been targeted is the Asics shop on O'Connell Street, which was recently looted for the third time since it opened in 2020. The shop was also among those targeted during the 2023 riots, with owner Paul Gallagher saying in the aftermath that the Gardaí were 'doing a lot.' He said: 'They know who they are, they are bringing them before the courts and the courts are leaving them go. 'There are no consequences for shoplifting, it's a soft touch.'
Sunday World
3 days ago
- Sunday World
Gardai target high-level Irish mobs after combing five years of EncroChat data
The revelation was made by Detective Chief Superintendent Séamus Boland, who is the head of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), in an interview with the Sunday World. Left, Robert Noctor allegedly supplied criminals with encrypted phones; Kinahan cartel mobsters Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh and Liam Byrne were jailed after their plans on EncroChat were intercepted Gardaí are pursuing a number of investigations against 'high-level targets in Ireland' as part of the 2020 EncroChat takedown by French law enforcement, it has emerged. The revelation was made by Detective Chief Superintendent Séamus Boland, who is the head of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), in an interview with the Sunday World. It is understood that many Irish criminals used the EncroChat encrypted platform, which was hacked by French police who worked with their British and Dutch counterparts for over two months. By compromising the network, police could watch all messages, images, and videos that were sent over the system – all unknown to the criminals between early April 2020 and June 13 of that year. All this data was saved and has resulted in thousands of organised crime prosecutions worldwide to date, with the 'hope' that prosecutions can now happen here in Ireland. An EncroChat phone looked like any other phone, but there was a second display that could be accessed by a few button clicks that brought the user into the EncroChat system. Before the hack, police had no way of accessing the information on the phones More than 32,000 EncroChat phones had accepted the 'capture tool' or 'booby trap' sent out through the computer servers that French police had taken over. Until the French authorities successfully hacked the system, police had no way of accessing the information on the phones. While gardaí were not included in the initial and highly significant EncroChat investigation, Det Chief Supt Boland said gardaí have now been 'officially and legally' given the relevant data from the hack on Irish criminals that disrupted organised crime across the globe. Left, Robert Noctor allegedly supplied criminals with encrypted phones; Kinahan cartel mobsters Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh and Liam Byrne were jailed after their plans on EncroChat were intercepted News in 90 Seconds - August 16th 'From an investigators' perspective here in the DOCB, we are pursuing a number of investigations at the moment where we would hope to use data that was recovered from the EncroChat takedown in a criminal prosecution,' he said. Gardaí have previously been reluctant to discuss their plans in relation to the EncroChat takedown, as opposed to their involvement in infiltrating the separate Ghost encrypted platform last September, in which the west Dublin 'Family' gang were one of the main targets. Detective Chief Superintendent Seamus Boland said the EncroChat data is being examined. Photo: Collins Last March, 12 arrests were made here, including leaders in 'The Family' gang, and Spain as part of that investigation. While Det Chief Supt Boland said more arrests are expected as part of the Ghost probe, a huge amount of data from EncroChat is now being analysed over five years after the platform was first compromised by police and then disbanded. 'We are pursuing a number of those investigations at the moment – we as investigators were not involved in it (EncroChat),' he said. 'We are gathering the necessary evidential requirements in an effort to use the data because I think that would be extremely important. But the investigators in DOCB were not involved in that investigation when it was live and ongoing. 'We are looking at that data, we are considering it and gathering it in the legal capacity so that we hopefully use it in criminal prosecutions in Ireland. We would hope to have some very significant successes.' However, Det Chief Supt Boland also said it 'will not be easy' and 'quite complex' because of different legal systems within European countries, but expressed confidence in DOCB investigators who are compiling the investigation files in relation to EncroChat and Ireland. Senior Kinahan cartel gangsters Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh and Liam Byrne were given jail sentences in England last year for a bizarre firearms plot that English police became aware of after the criminals discussed plans on EncroChat. Officers found more than €93,000 in a Brown Thomas bag in the boot of his Toyota Yaris And gardaí have identified a Dublin barman who allegedly became a key player in supplying gangsters with encrypted phones in Ireland and France. Robert Noctor, with an address in Clontarf, fled Ireland after being caught with a stash of cash and EncroChat devices used by organised crime gangs across Europe, according to recent evidence put before the High Court in a Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) case. Noctor hasn't returned to Ireland since he was stopped by gardaí in Artane in January 2020. Officers found more than €93,000 in a Brown Thomas bag in the boot of his Toyota Yaris, as well as three BQ Aquarius mobile phones that CAB said were EncroChat devices. He told gardaí that he sold the EncroChat phones for €1,000 each and top-ups every six months for €1,500 before the devices and cash were seized from him – three months before the system was compromised by French police. It then emerged that Noctor had allegedly been selling the handsets in France, according to court documents there. The cash and the three Encrochat-enabled phones were deemed the proceeds of crime.
Sunday World
4 days ago
- Sunday World
Head of Garda Organised Crime Bureau reveals why ‘top-tier' crime gangs have put away their guns
'BAD FOR BUSINESS' | Head of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau welcomes significant drop in gang violence, but says organised crime has not gone away Detective Chief Superintendent Séamus Boland said the GNDOCB's central strategy is to 'disrupt, dismantle, prosecute' organised crime gangs Detective Chief Superintendent Séamus Boland said 22 'top-tier' gangs are operating in Ireland, but there have been no gangland gun murders this year so far. Gardaí have also not been involved in foiling any murder plots, known as 'life-saving interventions', so far this year, and the bureau has seized just one firearm since January 1. This is 'an indication of how quiet the higher end of violence in organised crime is now', Mr Boland told the Sunday World , adding that the bureau has engaged in a total of 83 life-saving interventions since 2016. Of that figure, there were three last year and none in 2023. In 2016, there were 20 such operations; 26 in 2017; and 13 in 2018 as the Hutch-Kinahan feud threatened to spiral out of control. There were 14 in 2019 before the need for these 'intense' special operations lessened from that year onwards, which Mr Boland said is an indication of a decrease of murders and attacks at the highest levels of organised crime. Mr Boland, who is in charge of over 100 detectives, said it is 'bad for business' for criminal gangs to be engaged in gun crime, and they have finally realised this. He said the decrease is also a result of his bureau's strategy of targeting 'the people who were willing to pull the triggers'. 'A lot of people are serving lengthy sentences in our prison system for specific crimes, but they are without doubt responsible for multiple other violent crimes over the previous two decades,' Mr Boland said. Mr Boland said €82m in drugs has been seized so far this year, most of it cocaine Detective Chief Superintendent Séamus Boland said the GNDOCB's central strategy is to 'disrupt, dismantle, prosecute' organised crime gangs News in 90 Seconds - August 15th He added that gardaí have used intense and proactive investigations to take the majority of these criminals off the streets. 'Ireland is unique across Europe in that violent high-level crime is increasing in European countries, but the opposite is the experience here to date [this year]. That can change overnight and that is the challenge.' Mr Boland also revealed that €82m in drugs has been seized by the bureau so far this year, most of it cocaine, along with just over €1.4m in cash. He said 20 firearms were seized by the bureau last year, but 18 were linked to the investigation into Newry man Mark McCourt (34), who was arrested by GNDOCB officers in Co Louth in July last year. Mark McCourt and the seized weapons The Special Criminal Court heard last month that McCourt was the leader of an organised crime group supplying guns, ammunition and pipe bombs to other gangs north and south of the Border. 'If you go back to the height of the [Hutch-Kinahan] feud, 18 firearms were seized by GNDOCB in 2016, and we had 29 in 2017,' Mr Boland said. 'It is an indication of the work we are engaging in – how the higher end of organised groups up to now appeared to have pulled back from the extreme levels of violence they were engaged in.' However, Mr Boland stressed the need for vigilance, and pointed out that 10 years after the bureau began targeting them, the Kinahan crime group remain a target as they have not been fully dismantled. Disrupt, dismantle, prosecute. That is our strategy and we need to be resilient with all these groups When asked whether the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was close to making a decision two years after the bureau submitted a massive, lengthy file on the gang's leadership, who are still based in Dubai, Mr Boland said there was no indication yet of a decision to charge Daniel and Christopher Kinahan and their father Christy Sr. 'Disrupt, dismantle, prosecute. That is our strategy and we need to be resilient with all these groups,' he said. While Mr Boland did not name any of the 22 major organised crime gangs who operate in Ireland, they include outfits such as The Family gang, the Mr Big mob, the Limerick-based Keane gang and the Hutch organised crime gang. These gangs feed off each other and assist each other, he said. They need 'logistic routes' into Ireland, whether it is the postal service, containers and trucks on ferries. 'It is all to do with corruption,' he said. 'They corrupt international truck drivers, they corrupt people who are working in ports and airports and they corrupt crews on bulk tankers.' Christy Kinahan Sr Mr Boland said only three crew members on a large vessel need to know about a drug-smuggling plot, sometimes involving multiple tonnes of cocaine, and can get paid hundreds of thousands of euro for their involvement in each shipment. 'Corruption is a huge factor. We can't identify all these corrupt people on our own,' Mr Boland said. 'We are very dependent on people who are legitimately working in these industries who have great knowledge of who the corrupt actors are, so we engage very closely with these people with our partners in Customs.' He said the bureau is 'well and truly alive' and 'conscious' of the efforts of transnational crime groups' attempts to corrupt people working at ports of entry into Ireland, and cited a successful operation that led to employees at Dublin Airport being convicted of importing cocaine over several years. Mr Boland has spent most of his long career investigating organised crime. He was a sergeant and lead investigator in the drugs unit at Pearse Street garda station when his team were involved in the seizure of over €1.5m of cocaine and ecstasy at a Holiday Inn in Dublin's south inner city in March 2000. This seizure led to a bitter falling-out among once-close associates in what became known as the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud, a bloody gang war claimed 16 lives. Cocaine seizure made by officers of the GNDOCB Reflecting on developments in the 25 years since, Mr Boland said: 'It was a totally different world back then. As a police organisation, we did not have the capabilities and the resilience that we have now to tackle these groups. 'He praised the 'very strong' organised crime legislation dating from 2006, as well as more recent money-laundering legislation, describing it as 'an absolute game-changer for us'. 'When I think back to who were the main organised crime groups in Ireland around that time, and even a few years before that, what we definitely have discovered is that people don't retire from organised crime,' he said. Recalling the Holiday Inn seizure, Mr Boland said that even then, the Kinahan group were ultimately responsible in the background for what was a huge haul at the time. 'One hundred per cent, absolutely – it was all part of that network. Leopards don't change their spots,' he added. Mr Boland stressed the need for proactive, rather than reactive, policing strategies when investigating groups such as the Kinahan cartel, who 'became so powerful in their own minds that they decided who lived or who died, and sometimes this was for some very minor arguments or personal grievances'.
