Cross-Border 'Hot Pursuit' After Robbery

Police in Londonderry are trying to locate the three male occupants of a car stolen in Co Donegal which evaded officers on Thursday morning.

The three men - in a Audi A6 - came to the attention of the PSNI in the Crescent Link area of Derry City at 10am on Thursday morning after the car had been stolen an hour earlier from a house in Kinnego near Buncrana, Co Donegal during an aggravated burglary. The vehicle wasn't stopped, but was instead abandoned in Londonderry.

Gardaí said four men were involved in the early morning incident when they entered a house shortly before 9am and threatened a mother and her children before escaping towards Bridgend, also in Co Donegal, in the family's car with an amount of cash.

One man, in his 30s, was arrested near the house, in the Kinnego area, driving a Silver Nissan Almera. He was detained at Buncrana Garda Station.

Soon afterwards, in Northern Ireland, the search was ongoing for the grey Vauxhall Astra, which was stolen later on Thursday morning in Londonderry. The car's registration number is INZ 7128 and is believed to be a replacement vehicle for the suspected robbers.

"We believe the offenders are now using a car stolen in the Drumahoe area just before 10.30am," a police statement said also advising that members of the public should "not attempt to stop or follow this car or approach the occupants."

Anyone with information on the stolen cars is asked to contact PSNI or An Garda Síochána immediately.

This 'hot pursuit' follows an earlier appeal over the theft of a car in Warrenpoint in November last year that has now prompted a cross border appeal for witnesses.

The PSNI has asked for An Garda Síochána help to jointly launch an appeal for witnesses to the theft, saying they are keen to speak to a number of people who were at the scene.

The incident occurred shortly after 9.30pm on November 11 last year when a grey coloured BMW was stolen from the forecourt of a filling station on the Newry Road in Warrenpoint. 



The female driver had gone into the shop and left her two children, a 14-year-old boy and seven month old girl, in the BMW car when it was stolen by a male, believed to be in his early twenties. 



The children were found a short time later nearby along the side of the Narrow Water Road unharmed. A member of the public brought them back to the shop and they were reunited with their mother.

The BMW car was later found in the Dundalk area on Friday 12th November. 

Police are also appealing for anyone who may have been in that area at the time and witnessed the incident.

They are also keen to speak to anyone who was at the filling station and noticed a blue Vauxall Vectra car with a number of males on board at around 9.30pm on the evening of the theft.

Anyone with information is asked to contact CID at Newry on 0845 600 8000, or information can be passed anonymously to the Crimestoppers number on 0800 555 111.

This is only the latest example of such inter-agency co-operation across the border as, earlier this week, the Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan welcomed the Chief Constable of the PSNI, Matt Baggot and some of his senior colleagues to Garda Headquarters for a meeting on cross border policing matters on Tuesday.

(DW/GK)