Five young men arrested after garda vehicle rammed and cars damaged in Limerick

GARDAI have arrested five young men suspected of being the ringleaders of a gang behind a spate of car thefts in the city.

It follows an incident of dangerous driving and suspected theft of a vehicle in the Castletroy area, and cars being damaged in Corbally on Sunday evening.

It is understood they were performing 'donuts' at the time when gardai attempted to stop them in Castletroy.

"During the course of responding to these incidents an official garda vehicle was involved in a collision with a vehicle driven by the suspected offenders," said a garda spokesperson.

It is understood it was a Regional Support Unit vehicle that was damaged. Officers arrested a number of males in relation to this incident.

"No injuries have been reported at this time," said the garda spokesperson. 

Later that evening a number of vehicles were damaged by a stolen car in the Corbally area. Videos of the damaged cars have been widely shared on social media and a number of youths arrested.

It is believed a number of young men went into the nearby Shannon in an attempt to make good their escape. However, they were all tracked down by gardai with the assistance of Limerick Fire and Rescue Service who launched their power boat.

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A garda spokesperson said the five males, in total, arrested are aged in their teens and early 20s.

"All five were detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a garda station in Limerick City. One of the males has been released from custody pending referral to the youth diversion programme.

"Another of the males has been released from custody and a file will be prepared for the DPP. Three of these males have been charged and are due to appear before Ennis District Court tomorrow morning, Tuesday, August 6. Investigations are ongoing," said the garda spokesperson.