Raiders who caused €16k worth of damage in Newbridge are jailed

The men were arrested as part of a garda operation targeting an organised criminal group

Two members of a Romanian organised crime gang who used cars to ram raid commercial premises, including a shop at Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge. have been jailed for a total of ten years. 

The men were arrested as part of operation ‘Docht’ targeting an organised criminal group responsible for burglaries and high-value vehicle thefts on July 3 and 4 last year. 

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard last Monday that a Vodafone shop in Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge was targeted just before 2.30am on July 3, 2023.

The court heard that a silver Mercedes Benz with two occupants wearing gloves approached the front of the shop. 

There was €16,000 worth of damage was caused as the raiders broke into the store with bags in hands and left with the store till.

Apart from the till, no other items were taken in the course of that burglary as the phones were in a safe.
 Ricardo Stancu, Daniel Murgea, and Ionut Leonard Petriu appeared before a sentencing hearing at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. 
Stancu (19) of North Circular Road Dublin, and Murgea (31), also of North Circular Road, pleaded guilty to burglary, criminal damage and organised crime offences.

Judge Orla Crowe sentenced Stancu to five years in prison with the final 12 months suspended.
She noted that he was a younger man who had limited previous convictions and said she would suspend part of the sentence to “incentivise rehabilitation”. 

Judge Crowe said a headline sentence of eight years in prison was warranted for Murgea before she imposed a sentence of six years having taken into account his “significant history of dishonesty” – referring to Murgea’s previous convictions in both France and Italy for offences involving theft. 
Petriu (38) of Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty to assisting the group and his culpability was the lowest of the three, the court heard. 

Judge Crowe said Petriu played a different role to Murgea and Stancu.

She adjourned his case to March 20 next and ordered the preparation of a probation report for that hearing. 
Judge Crowe said the offences before the court were "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 said it was “a highly organised crime” and extensive damage had been caused to the properties.
 Judge Crowe acknowledged that Murgea and Stancu had been described as “foot soldiers” in the operation. 
Each of the accused pleaded guilty on their trial date in October this year and further pleas were entered on Monday. Stancu and Murgea are in custody but Petriu is on bail. 

The court heard Murgea has no previous convictions in Ireland but has 13 in Italy and three in France for offences including theft, dealing in stolen goods and criminal association.
Stancu has one previous conviction. Petriu has one previous conviction which relates to “paying someone else to do a driving theory test”, the court heard.

Dean Kelly SC, for Stancu, said his client went back to Romania as a teenager before returning to Ireland. He was put in touch with people and was under pressure to take part.