FIVE PEOPLE HAVE been arrested for impersonating gardaí in an attempt to rob cash from people’s homes.

Gardaí involving the activities of a criminal gang involved in theft and fraud have detained four men and a woman in five separate Garda stations in the east of the country.

Gardaí said the involved gang members had been calling to rural homes pretending to be gardaí investigating burglaries in the area. They told the homeowners that money had been stolen and they were attempting to identify the owners of the cash.

They requested to compare cash in their possession to cash held by the homeowner, and then proceeded to take cash from the homeowner.

A number of searches are ongoing in three counties.

The investigation is led by a senior investigating officer, based out of an incident room at the Gardaí Kilkenny regional headquarters and has been investigating the gangs activities across 15 counties, primarily in the east and the midlands, over the past 10 months.

A garda spokesperson said: “Members of An Garda Síochána will not cold call to a house and request to check cash in this manner.

“An Garda Síochána wish to remind the public that any Garda member calling to your door will have identification. However, should you have any concerns about the person at the door, you should not answer the door even if they are purporting to be a Garda.

“Genuine Gardaí will always provide official details to allow you to confirm their identity with your local Garda station and will be patient while you choose to so.”