Jewellers raided for the fourth time in three years

A thief who used a sledgehammer got away with an estimated €13,000 worth of goods from a raid on a jewellers in the centre of Cavan town during the early hours of last Wednesday morning. It was the fourth occasion in three years that Elegant Gems on Main Street has been the target of thieves. Gardaí in Cavan are currently carrying out an investigation but they are not following any definite line of enquiry. They are examining CCTV footage, which shows an individual breaking the window. A Garda spokesman said the incident occurred around 3.30-4am. The thief took advantage of a gap between the grill and the top of the window. He managed to smash the window before making off with trays of jewellery, which included earrings and bracelets. It's understood the raider made his getaway through St. Clare's. Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to come forward if they saw anyone acting suspiciously in the vicinity of Elegant Gems; call Cavan garda Station on 049-4368800. Jimmy Scanlon, proprietor of Elegant Gems, told The Anglo-Celt that the thief got away with some €13,000 worth of jewellery. He believes the sledgehammer was planted nearby the day before. "A number of broken bracelets and earrings were located on the street," he said. "Five gold bracelets, ten white gold bracelets and 15-20 diamond earrings were taken," he said. Two pairs of earrings were located on the street as well as broken bracelets. "One set of the earrings taken were valued at €2,500." It is the fourth raid on his premises since July 2006, when two foreigners got away with some items. There were two raids on his premises within the space of weeks in December 2007. "Thieves got away with a substantial quantity of jewellery during the second raid in December 2007," Mr. Scanlon added.