Gang strike NCT centre and tool hire premises

A BREAK-IN to the NCT centre in Westport last week is the latest in a series of break-ins to such premises.

In order to gain entry to the NCT centre in the early hours of Thursday morning, a gang cut a hole in a corrugated iron wall.

They then went for a safe which is contained in the building but failed to open it.

The gang then left the National Car Test (NCT) centre and headed for what is believed to be a secondary target – Duffy’s Tool Hire on the nearby Castlebar Road.

Chainsaws, drills and other equipment was stolen from Duffy’s. The items taken had a possible value in the region of €10,000.

This is the second time in as many years that the NCT premises has been targeted. The building was also broken into in November 2017.

In recent years criminal gangs have been targeting NCT centres in the hope of stealing NCT certificates which can be sold to unscrupulous motorists for profit.

Car test centres recently hit include Castlerea (Roscommon), Blarney (Cork) and Finglas (Dublin).

Gardaí at Westport have asked anybody who may have spotted suspicious vehicular activity in the Westport area in the early hours of Thursday morning or who may have relevant dashcam or CCTV footage to contact them at (098) 25555.