ARMED detectives swooped on several Dublin halting sites after a 70-year-old man became the victim of the capital's latest sickening aggravated burglary.

Thousands of euro worth of jewellery was stolen during the incident at the victim's apartment on the Monkstown Road in south Dublin when two thugs broke in shortly after 9pm last Wednesday.

The victim, who was on his own in the apartment, heard noise outside. When he went to investigate, he was confronted by two raiders, one of whom was armed with garden shears.

He was forced back into the apartment and was punched several times in the face and head.

He was subjected to a torrent of abuse and threats from the pair who continued to beat him as they demanded cash and jewellery.

The criminals, who spoke with Traveller accents, tied the man's hands and forced him all around the apartment as they demanded to know where he kept his jewellery.

They then fled with a valuable haul and a small amount of cash.

The traumatised victim called gardai and officers from Blackrock rushed to the scene.

Sources say the aggravated burglary was taken so seriously that gardai decided to enlist members of the Special Detective Unit (SDU) in the hunt for the suspects.

The SDU officers drove into a number of halting sites in south Dublin and also visited several estates, but the suspects were not arrested and remain at large. None of the jewellery has been recovered.

It is believed that one of the Traveller criminals is a juvenile male while the other man who was far more violent is described as being in his 20s.

Both suspects covered their faces with hoodies and scarves.

traumatised

"This was an absolutely barbaric burglary and the elderly victim has been left deeply traumatised. Gardai will do everything in their power to bring these perpetrators to justice," a source said.

Gardai in south Dublin have been among the most proactive in tackling gangs responsible for the burglary epidemic and have mounted a number of raids as part of Operation Acer, a Dublin-based investigation set up in March 2012 to support the nationwide Operation Fiacla.

Last month, armed detectives were involved in a raid at a halting site in Blackrock that also involved the garda helicopter and riot squad.

kfoy@herald.ie

Online Editors