Cross border pursuit leads to two men charged with burglary

Detectives in Lurgan and Ardmore (Newry) charged two suspects with burglaries - one in the Craigavon area and one in Newry.

The men are due to appear in Newry Magistrates Court this morning.

It follows reports of an aggravated burglary in the Newry and Mourne area where it was claimed knives were brandished to threaten the victim.

According to the PSNI Craigavon on Facebook: “We had a dedicated anti-burglary operation on with extra officers pulled in on extra duty to target the hot spots in Armagh Banbridge and Craigavon area, as well as Newry and South Armagh.

“A vehicle was spotted and, as our crews closed in, it fled across the border to our An Garda Síochána colleagues.

“A pursuit began, putting our suspects between a rock and a hard place. They chose the hard place, and came back across the border. We had crews ready and in place, using a stinger on the vehicle to stop it.

“Two men were subsequently arrested, one at the scene and one elsewhere.

“From that moment, CID departments from Ardmore (Newry), Cookstown and Lurgan have been working flat out, collating information from a string of burglaries and identifying what other links we have.

“As a result of their tenacious work, the pair were further arrested for a burglary in Middletown on 26th February.

“As you know, we have been investigating a string of burglaries in our district (ABC) and we’re very keen to see what links can be found. Whilst arrests for two burglaries have taken place, investigation into others remain active and we are hopeful of further development on those in due course.

“A great catch last night made possible by officers from E District, D District, detectives from three CID offices and our Garda colleagues,” said the PSNI Craigavon last night.

In an update this morning the PSNI said: “This morning we have some very sleepy detectives. Lurgan and Ardmore CID detectives who were supposed to be home by around 9pm and didn’t get into bed until nearly 4am. The reason? They were interviewing and charging our two suspects.

“Both will be in Newry court this morning, charged with two burglaries, one in PSNI Newry & Mourne patch and one in ours.

“An investigation into several other burglaries is still ongoing,” they said.