Thieves turn to stealing bottles of gas from shop

A gang of thieves stole an estimated 16 gas cylinders from SuperValu Mountmellick last Friday night April 19.

However the entire robbery was recorded on CCTV, leaving hopes high of their identification and arrest.

At 10.30pm, Between four and six men climbed over the adjoining wall of St Joseph’s Girls National School, and used a bolt cutters to open the cage where the Flogas cylinders were stored.

One by one they then hauled the cylinders up over the wall, completely emptying the cage. The cylinders, worth €45 each, came to €720 in total.

The theft was noticed by staff when they came in to open up on Saturday morning, and they immediately reported it to an Garda Síochána.

Owner of the store Emmett McConville says the Gardaí have assured him they are at an advance stage in their investigations, thanks to the help of closed circuit television cameras placed outside the shop.

“The Gardaí are well on top of the case. They have identified one or two of the men, and they are expecting to make an arrest. The investigation is at an advanced stage,” said Mr McConville.

He also remains hopeful that the gas cylinders can be recovered, and says the supermarket will continue to stock cylinders, despite the robbery.

“We will have to consider carrying less stock,” he said.

It is the biggest robbery to hit the supermarket since it opened at Connolly Street two years ago.

Gardaí were unavailable for comment on the case.