GARDAÍ HAVE LAUNCHED a criminal investigation into allegations a serving garda sergeant stole money from a female Deliveroo rider in Dublin city centre and an officer has now been suspended. 

Senior members of the force had previously been carrying out what they described as a “scoping exercise” into the alleged incident, which occurred in September of this year. 

Today, the Garda Press Office confirmed that a full criminal investigation has been launched and that an officer has been suspended from duty. 

A Garda spokesman told The Journal: “An Garda Síochána has commenced a criminal investigation into certain matters highlighted in the scoping exercise.

“A member of An Garda Síochána has been suspended from active duty.”

The investigation will examine all aspects of the alleged incident including whether similar events have happened before. 

The woman at the centre of the alleged incident was working in the city centre when she was flagged down and stopped by two men who produced Garda badges and identified themselves as gardaí, sources told this website last month.

She was searched and was then brought back to her home by the two men, who carried out a search of the premises. 

According to sources, the two men then left the apartment and the woman realised that several hundred euro and her passport were missing. She contacted her local Garda station to make a complaint.

Gardaí produced an evo-fit of the alleged perpetrators which was sent to stations across the capital. It’s understood the second officer, who had been on patrol with the sergeant that evening, identified himself to his superior as being one of the men in question. He told his superior officer that he believed he was on a legitimate search.

No record of the search was initially found on the internal Garda PULSE system.

However, it did appear on the system after the evo-fit had been sent around the station, something which raised the suspicions of senior officers. It is standard practice to upload searches to the system as soon as possible. 

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