GARDAÍ HAVE ARRESTED 18 people in the Carlow area as part of crime-prevention measures.

The arrests were made yesterday by the Kilkenny-Carlow division as part of Operation Thor – Project Storm.

Of the 18 arrests, 16 people were detained for questioning under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 for a range of alleged offences including theft, assault, fraud, burglary and criminal damage.

Ten have since been charged and will appear at local sittings of Carlow and Kilkenny District Court in the coming weeks, Gardaí said.

Project Storm

A total of 36 checkpoints targeting the movement of local criminal groups were carried out during the operation resulting in one arrest and five vehicles have been seized under the road traffic acts.

A number of community engagement activities took place during the day, including road safety workshops at a local schools. The Garda Mounted Unit visited a number of primary schools in the area and a crime prevention stand was set up at Carlow shopping centre.

The operation was led by gardaí from the Carlow/ Kilkenny Division, assisted by the Armed Support Unit; 25 trainee gardaí also took part in the operation.

Comments have been closed as cases are due before the courts.