Jailed Jamie O’Brien is an associate of the teen burglar

A 16-year-old criminal has been identified as one of the main members of a prolific burglary gang causing chaos across the country with a number of break-ins and robberies in rural communities.

The teenager is well known to gardaí despite his young age, and detectives believe he is a prominent member of a group made up of young criminals from the north Wicklow and Tallaght areas.

Although he is considered a serial burglar linked to a national crime gang, he cannot be named because he is a juvenile.

He is a close associate of criminal Jamie O'Brien, who is serving an eight-year sentence for tying up, beating and robbing pensioner Eva Sutton (89) in her home in 2015.

O'Brien's juvenile associate and his gang are linked to numerous burglaries in several different regions, including the midlands and west of Ireland.

The crime gang, consisting of young men from Dublin and Wicklow, is a prime target for gardaí in Bray, as well as for national gardaí under Operation Thor.

Other teenage associates of this gang were arrested in a high-profile operation last December following a burglary in the Kildare area.

A source told the Irish Independent that the 16-year-old criminal "was schooled" by other serial burglars from the north Wicklow area, including O'Brien.

"He has had older criminals around him for some time so it's no surprise that he is now heavily involved in break-ins with his own gang," the source said.

"The juvenile criminal and his gang are now causing considerable chaos in different Garda regions across the country," the source added.

One criminal associate of the youth was also previously shot in a punishment-style attack after carrying out several burglaries in north Wicklow.

His close associate O'Brien was jailed last year for eight years for carrying out a crime that shocked the nation.

O'Brien (23) and Michael Cash (25) were on bail when they broke into the home of Eva Sutton - who was then aged 89 - before subjecting her to a 90-minute ordeal during which she suffered broken bones and a punctured lung.

The pair had more than 120 previous convictions between them.

Irish Independent