A motorist who was on their mobile while driving was just the tip of the iceberg regarding road-related offences that police in Northern Ireland recently uncovered.
Last week, the ANPR Interceptor team officers were working in the border area near Newry. During this operation, they discovered a van driver on their mobile phone.
According to a spokesperson for NI Road Policy and Safety, the driver was “too engrossed in their conversation to notice police parked at the roadside”.
“Initially, the driver stopped for police when signalled to do so. Then they had a change of mind and decided to make a break for it, and a pursuit ensued.”
“During the pursuit, the driver collided with an oncoming vehicle causing injury to the other driver.”
Road-related offences
Officers arrested the motorist for various offences, including dangerous driving, misuse of their mobile phone and failing to stop for police.
Further police-led enquiries showed that the vehicle had been cloned and was an outstanding stolen vehicle.
“The vehicle had been stolen in the Republic of Ireland in 2017. The driver will now also be reported for handling goods stolen in ROI,” the spokesperson explained.
Appeal following 66 incidents of telephone cable thefts
Meanwhile, An Garda Síochána is appealing for information from the public concerning the theft of telephone cable in the Co. Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Meath areas in recent months.
According to Gardaí, in the past six months alone, there have been 66 incidents of cable theft nationwide.
The vast majority of these have occurred in the Cavan / Monaghan, Louth and Meath Garda divisions.
To date, thefts have resulted in disruptions in services to more than 1,500 households.
In a statement, a spokesperson for An Garda Síochána said:
“These cables are likely being targeted for copper contained within the cable itself.”
“The theft has not only resulted in significant loss to the affected telephone provider – in these cases Eir – but has also greatly impacted the public by way of telephone and internet service outages.”
