A lock on the Royal canal in Drumcondra, Dublin, as severe weather conditions continue, Friday March 2, 2018. The big freeze caused travel chaos throughout the country with hundreds of flights cancelled.
Irish police arrest nine after local supermarket robbed during Storm Emma
Irish police said Friday they had made several arrests after a supermarket was attacked with a digger and robbed during the worst snowstorm the city has seen in decades.
A lock on the Royal canal in Drumcondra, Dublin, as severe weather conditions continue, Friday March 2, 2018. The big freeze caused travel chaos throughout the country with hundreds of flights cancelled.
Police in Dublin, Ireland, say they have arrested nine people after a local supermarket was robbed with a digger during Storm Emma, the worst snowstorm to hit the U.K., Ireland and Northern Ireland in three decades.
“Substantial damage was caused to a supermarket on Fortunestown lane and further damage to another premises in Jobstown,” An Garda Síochána, Ireland’s national police and security service said in a news release on Friday.
Videos posted on social media by locals identified the supermarket as Lidl. Irish Times reported that “a large digger was used to break into the building. Its bucket was repeatedly rammed onto the roof, causing it to partially collapse.”
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Eight men, between the ages of 24 and 47, were charged with theft, burglary and trespassing offences, Irish police said. A man in his 30s was also arrested for handling stolen property. Irish police say that the all those arrested during the robbery are currently detained at Dublin Garda Stations.
The loot occurred during Storm Emma, also referred to as the “beast from the east,” which shut most of Ireland on Friday and forced Britain to call in the army to help battle the worst weather the continent has seen in decades.
“Absolutely disgraceful,” stated one Twitter user.
“People in the area will probably running low on supplies and needed this store and now it’s been destroyed. Wankers.”
Several others also tweeted about the difficulty Irish police faced getting to the scene of the robbery due to the storm.
Overnight blizzards left up to three-feet of snow across Ireland and Scotland. The storm knocked out Ireland’s entire public transport network, closing its airports and leaving roads “extremely dangerous,” Dublin’s municipal government told Reuters on Friday.
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On Saturday, the Dublin City Council said that “there are still are access issues on side roads and estates.”
“Crews will continue to clear roads. Additional operational staff are being brought in over the weekend to address footpaths in high priority areas only. Drivers and pedestrians are still advised to take care when moving around the City. The commencement today of many public transport services has enabled the opening of businesses across the City.”
“Some stores have opened their doors (corner stores and Starbucks), but several are still closed,” said Mariah Colussi, a Canadian studying medicine in Dublin, in an email to the Star.
“I can’t speak for the conditions further inland, I have heard people outside of the city are essentially snowed in,” Colussi said.
“As a Canadian, I have definitely seen worse snow storms. However, we are more prepared in Canada to deal with the havoc. There are so many people in Dublin who are immigrants who have never seen snow before. Even citizens aren’t accustomed to handling large amounts of snow. At this point, there is a little over a foot of snow on my front walkway (and we don’t even own a shovel to clear it!).”
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Fakiha Baig Fakiha Baig is a former Star breaking news reporter.
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