Gardaí arrested a man at the weekend who was attempting to steal GPS equipment from a farm in north Co. Dublin, Agriland understands.
An Garda Siochána has confirmed that an arrest was made in connection with an incident of theft from a commercial premises in Naul, near Dublin Airport, on Sunday (June 30).
The man was charged and appeared before a morning sitting at Court 3 of the Central Courts of Justice, Dublin, yesterday (Monday, July 1).
Although gardaí did not provide further details on the case, sources indicate that the man allegedly attempted to steal GPS equipment from machinery on a farm.
The farmer’s on-farm CCTV and security system alerted him to the presence of the intruder, who was apprehended and detained at the location by the farmer until gardaí arrived.
It is understood that, in court yesterday, the man pleaded guilty to charges arising from the incident, and was remanded for sentencing at a later date. An application for bail may be made before that, it is understood.
This incident in Dublin comes after a number of thefts of GPS equipment in Co. Wexford at the weekend.
Gardaí have launched investigations following a spate of thefts from farms in the county, all targeting GPS equipment, which is used by farmers for a variety of reasons, including increasing the precision of fertiliser application.
It is understood that several farms in the Enniscorthy area had GPS equipment stolen sometime between Friday night (June 28) and Saturday morning (June 29).
In a statement, gardaí confirmed that there were three incidents of theft from a vehicle at a premises in the Ballagh, one theft from a vehicle in Glenbrien and another theft from a vehicle in Ballymurn.
A garda spokesperson said that investigations are ongoing in all of the cases and they appealed for anyone with information to come forward.