Masked men ransack Lavey Inn
Masked men ransacked the Lavey Inn in a professionally planned night-time raid last week. The popular Dublin Road establishment was one of two Cavan businesses targeted by the gang within an hour.
The Lavey Inn had closed up on Thursday night when the gang arrived and forced entry by smashing locks on a series of doors before ransacking the office and bar area.
CCTV footage captured four menacing figures wearing balaclavas emerging from the shadows as they arrived at around 1.30am on Friday morning, while a fifth seemingly waited in a getaway vehicle. They scaled the roof to cut the electricity and phone/internet lines within minutes of arriving and spent approximately 15 minutes inside riffling through the contents of the office and bar areas.
The Lavey Inn is a landmark premises on the N3, about five miles east of Cavan Town, and attracts passing trade. Undeterred by the incident, the Lavey Inn reopened for business as usual on Friday morning. The value of the damage to the premises has not been fully assessed, but it is understood the raiders made off with approximately €400 worth of alcohol.
Gardaí say that no arrests have been made as yet, but investigations are on-going. They suspect it was the same gang who failed in their attempt to burgle a business premises on the Ballinagh Road less than an hour before the Lavey Inn break-in.
Station closures
Cathaoirleach Fergal Curtin, who is from the area, knows the Lavey Inn’s proprietors well and condemned the raid.
“It seems that these criminal gangs are targeting rural businesses where they think there will be cash on the premises. It is a very frightening experience for business owners who are relying on it for their livelihoods.
“The Lavey Inn’s location on the N3 suggests that the gang wanted to make a quick getaway.”
Nearby Stradone station no longer operates as a regular garda base as a result of the post-economic crash cutbacks.
“We’ve seen the closure of so many garda stations across Ireland leading to the problem of rural communities being left undefended from such attacks by professional criminal gangs. We urgently need more gardaí based within rural communities.”
Cocaine bust
Separately, gardaí in Cavan stopped a car travelling in the Aughnaskerry Drive area of Cavan Town last Friday night. A vehicle search uncovered what they believe to be cocaine worth in the region of €5,000. The suspected drug has now been sent for analysis. No arrests have been made.
Local gardaí also arrested two men on August 17 in possession of a number of items, which could be used during a robbery or break-in. After observing the males acting suspiciously, gardaí stopped and searched the men, discovering them in possession of gloves, torches and nail bars.
Both were charged and will appear before Cavan District Court next month.