Two men jailed for roles in spate of 'ram raid' robberies

Two members of a Romanian organised crime group have been jailed for their roles in three ram raid robberies in 24 hours on three businesses in Dublin and Kildare.

A third member will be sentenced at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court next year.

The men stole cars last year and used them to ram the front windows of two phone shops in Dublin city centre and Newbridge, and a car dealership in Clondalkin before fleeing the scenes.

The 3 Ireland shop on Henry Street sustained over €50,000 worth of damage and lost another €47,000 in sales while it was closed.

Another €16,000 worth of damage was caused to a phone shop in Newbridge, while a BMW 5 Series was stolen from the car dealership in Clondalkin with over €4,000 worth of damage caused there.

The gang's spate of crimes began at 2.27am on 3 July 2023 when they used "a dummy car" - a stolen silver Mercedes - to smash through the front window of the Vodafone Shop at the Whitewater shopping centre in Newbridge.

They caused extensive damage but could not gain access to the safe and fled with the till.

The gang then broke into Leinster Motors in Clondalkin just after 12.30am the following day, 4 July, and used a Citroen C5 to smash the gates and steal the BMW 5 Series which they used as a getaway car for their next robbery.

Three-and-a-half hours later, at 4.01am, they again used the stolen Mercedes to ram the front window of the 3 Store on Henry Street in Dublin city centre.

CCTV showed four men running frantically around the shop trying to steal the display phones.

However, the gang left with nothing because the shop's stock was kept in the safe.

The three gang members, all with addresses at flats on Middle Abbey Street and on the North Circular Road in Dublin, pleaded guilty to robbery, burglary and organised crime offences.

31-year-old Daniel Murgea was jailed for six years after Judge Orla Crowe said she was taking into account his "significant history of dishonesty", referring to Murgea's previous convictions in both France and Italy for offences involving theft.

19-year-old Ricardo Stanku was sentenced to five years in prison, with one year suspended, because the judge said he was a younger man who had limited previous convictions.

She suspended part of the sentence to "incentivise rehabilitation".

38-year-old Ionut Leonard Petriu had his sentencing adjourned until next March for preparation of a probation report.

Judge Crowe said he played a different role to the other two and his culpability was the lowest.

The three men were arrested three weeks after the offences following the establishment of the Garda Operation 'Docht', which established that the gang was family based and related through their partners or marriage.

Detective Garda Tom McEvoy told the court that all three men have previous convictions.

Petriu and Stanku have one each while Murgea has 13 in Italy and three in France for theft, dealing in stolen goods and criminal association.

Stanku had come to Ireland as a child with his mother and went to school here before returning to Romania in his teens.

He never knew his father and was three weeks back in Ireland when he got involved, he claimed, because of "familial pressure".

His defence counsel Dean Kelly said he was doing well in prison and was working in the kitchen where only the most trusted prisoners are permitted because of the utensils which could be used as weapons.

He now wants to pursue a career in "cooking" when he is released.

The court heard Murgea "was a soldier acting on the direction of others", and that while he has an insight into his offending, he was "under the control" of others.

His counsel Seoirse Ó Dúnlaing said he suffered from depression and was on disability because of it.

In the case of Petriu, his barrister Fergal McMurrow said he has always worked in the catering industry and is currently employed in a well-known and respected Dublin hotel.

He has been promoted from kitchen porter to junior chef, he is married and has three children who attend school here and is "a hard-working family man" who has made a life for himself in the State.

Judge Crowe described the offences as "inherently serious" and said the crimes were committed over two days on three unoccupied commercial premises that had been deliberately targeted in an organised way.

She also said it was "a highly organised crime" and extensive damage had been caused to the properties.