Overview
- Gardaí set up Operation Táirge in early May as a dedicated unit that uses profiling, CCTV review, surveillance and cross-division liaison to identify prolific retail offenders.
- So far 66 people have been arrested in the operation, with 25 already brought before courts and 41 more due to appear at Dún Laoghaire District Court.
- Fifteen juvenile suspects arrested during the operation have been referred to the Youth Diversion Programme rather than standard prosecution.
- Gardaí describe the offending as organised retail crime where groups coordinate thefts and sometimes use refund fraud to move goods back into the supply chain for resale.
- Retailers in Dundrum, Blackrock and Dún Laoghaire have reported rising losses, including targeted thefts of meat, and Gardaí say further arrests and a second phase of enforcement are expected.