The Rathkeale Rovers

dttq

Was listening to the Sean Moncrief show on Newstalk there when a discussion came up about a traveler group in Limerick known as "the rathkeale rovers". Has anybody heard of this group? Apparently they go around Europe, as well as Australia and elsewhere selling faulty engines to unsuspecting customers, and make a few grand a hit. They are also suspected of stealing Rhino horns from museums around the world and selling them onto to China where the horns are used for medicine, earning the group €100,000s in the process. :eek: . They have folks abroad who launder the money for them, and then it's members proceed to buy up property and expensive sports cars. Rathkeale is home to a lot of Bentley's, Porsche's etc.

http://www.herald.ie/news/irish-rhino-smugglers-had-fake-120k-3075366.html

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Irish-Traveller-crime-gang--targeted-in-US-over-stolen-rhino-horns-151349415.html

Unbelievable stuff.

westendgirlie

Something on 3e about that the other night.

NeonCookies

Wouldn't be surprised at all to be honest. My dad's from there originally, and my granny still lives there. Visiting the town is like entering another world. Huge caravans, fancy cars, brand new vans. If I visit around Christmas / Easter / When there's a wedding on there's no moving in the place with the big cars. Practically the whole place is owned by travellers now. There's a LOT of money coming into Rathkeale from somewhere.

gobnaitolunacy

It's been old news for quite some time.

Rasheed

westendgirlie wrote: »

Something on 3e about that the other night.

Yes, I seen that. Very interesting, they know well how to con people.

Couldn't believe they were even as far as Australia.

Carazy

Old news!!!

MadsL

Reminded of...

Some say he naturally faces magnetic north, and that all of his legs are hydraulic... all we know is, he's called the Stig.

Some say that in his wallet, he keeps a photo of his wallet, and that on his favourite t-shirt, there's a picture of his favourite t-shirt... all we know is, he's called The Stig!

Some say that his politics are terrifying, and that he once punched a horse to the ground... all we know is, he's called the Stig.

clappyhappy

There is a thread on the television forum about it called the town the travellers took over. Can't link from phone. Think you can see the show on tv3 player. Part 2 of 3 is on Monday at 9.

tfitzgerald

They got arrested a few years ago in Iceland for dealing in shabby goods . They were driving a Lk registered van. How they got that to Iceland is beyond me

gobnaitolunacy

tfitzgerald wrote: »

They got arrested a few years ago in Iceland for dealing in shabby goods . They were driving a Lk registered van. How they got that to Iceland is beyond me

How they got arrested would be beyond me.

Spread

Surely we are not talking about the same Travellers?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwSvYnvhqKU

ejmaztec

tfitzgerald wrote: »

They got arrested a few years ago in Iceland for dealing in shabby goods . They were driving a Lk registered van. How they got that to Iceland is beyond me

Extra air in the tyres, a dollop of silicone sealant, and a couple of paddles.

Spread

gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

How they got arrested would be beyond me.

Not beyond me. The Icelandic cops are not intimidated by this ethnic minority of modern-day Vikings Or by Pavee Point.

130Kph

It’s an old thread but this is a follow up court case & conclusion to the OP.

Members of an organised crime gang have been jailed for up to six years and eight months in Britain, after plotting to steal up to £57 million (€71m) in rhino horn and Chinese artefacts in a series of museum raids.

The group, dubbed the Rathkeale Rovers because of their links to the Co Limerick town, targeted high-value objects in a string of break-ins, including at Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum and Durham's Oriental Museum in 2012.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0404/779290-uk-courts-irish-gang/

I missed this storey at the time but by any standard - these are big time gangsters.

I suppose they’ll look at their 5 / 6 year sentences as a mere occupational hazard :rolleyes::(

Richard Hillman

How on earth has the Criminal Assets Bureau not cracked down on that town. It was blatantly obvious after that TV3 documentary and now there are convictions for things the were being mentioned 3 years ago about artefacts and think horns.

Ratkeale should be the easiest ever action that CAB has ever partaken in. At least the Kinehans had a boxing promotion and a few pubs to try and clean their money.

CB19Kevo

Is Rathkeale still being taken over by traveller's or whats the story with the place?

seamus

Now that the convictions have gone through, I'd say CAB are looking pretty strongly at what they can and can't do in Rathkeale.

One problem is the extent of intermarrying that takes place within traveller families and a tendency to not keep any records means that it can be difficult to track down exactly which assets belong to whom.

JackieBauer

CB19Kevo wrote: »

Is Rathkeale still being taken over by traveller's or whats the story with the place?

It's a majority traveller town and has been for years. Obviously, there is a settled community, shops don't run themselves, do they?

realdanbreen

CB19Kevo wrote: »

Is Rathkeale still being taken over by traveller's or whats the story with the place?

What do you mane taken over boss!

JackieBauer

In all seriousness, there should be a lot more surveillance in Rathkeale. I have had a radical idea of just giving the Aran Islands over to the travellers and let them fend for themselves. Obviously, the islanders could be accommodated in the mainland.

smash

seamus wrote: »

Now that the convictions have gone through, I'd say CAB are looking pretty strongly at what they can and can't do in Rathkeale.

One problem is the extent of intermarrying that takes place within traveller families and a tendency to not keep any records means that it can be difficult to track down exactly which assets belong to whom.

I asked a Garda a few years ago how they'd even track down a traveller given that they don't register for a PPS number and all seem to have the same name. The answer I got was "Don't have a PPS number? Sure they've all got 2 or 3 of them!"

philstar

makes a change from tarmacadam i suppose

lawlolawl

Richard Hillman wrote: »

How on earth has the Criminal Assets Bureau not cracked down on that town. It was blatantly obvious after that TV3 documentary and now there are convictions for things the were being mentioned 3 years ago about artefacts and think horns.

Ratkeale should be the easiest ever action that CAB has ever partaken in. At least the Kinehans had a boxing promotion and a few pubs to try and clean their money.

Poor paper trail/documentation because travellers use cash for everything and don't deal with banks at all. Also, Pavee Point would be out straight away claiming discrimination and a threatening of their "way of life".

Muahahaha

6 travellers all from Rathkeale, Limerick sent to prison for 5-6 year stretches. As crime goes seems these lads were onto a good thing, rather than get caught up in drugs and gangland killings they were coordinating burglaries of museums and stealing rhino horn before exporting it to Hong Kong and China. They're estimated to have stolen somewhere between €50m-€70m in rhino horn and rare Chinese jade sculptures.

They've been caught now and have pretty lenient sentences. But I have to admire their resourcefulness, no drugs, kidnappings, bank hold-ups and they managed to gross way, way more money than criminals who commit those crimes.The British media held up the Hatton Garden robbers as 'ordinary decent criminals', I think the Rathkeale Rovers fit the same criteria.

Not condoning what they did, its just pretty impressive to gain that amount of money without killing people.

uck51js9zml2yt

We'll see statues of them on the rathkeale bypass next.

jimmycrackcorm

It's their culture

DaraDali

Charleigh Defeated Stenographer wrote: »

We'll see statues of them on the rathkeale bypass next.

I was thinking of the square in Rathkeale actually, more tourism for the town other than the usual people at xmas

Great idea all the same

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Travellers and horns is not two words I want to be thinking about at the same time

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Nah, if you steal you're a scum bag, whether you're a white collar criminal or a traveler stealing from museums. Good riddance.

Muahahaha

Charleigh Defeated Stenographer wrote: »

We'll see statues of them on the rathkeale bypass next.

Better not make them out of jade or then they'll get nicked too :pac:

Ken.

Mod-Threads merged.

HanaleiJ5N

CB19Kevo wrote: »

Is Rathkeale still being taken over by traveller's or whats the story with the place?

I'm not from there but I went to secondary school there but I haven't had much reason to go there in the last 13 years, but it's sad to see what has become of the place.

Have a look around the following estate, this is not untypical of what has become of the place. I knew a few lads from this estate growing up, used to visit regularly up to 2000/2001. It was an estate full of families and life.

Now, literally every house in this (admittedly relatively small) empty, all lawns tarmacked or concreted over, almost all windows/doors boarded over, not a single car parked, no sign of life whatsoever. It's the most bizarre thing. I wish I could say more regarding what I know about the nature of how houses like this were bought but I think I'd better leave it there...

Streetview estate in Rathkeale

Arsemageddon

Charleigh Defeated Stenographer wrote: »

We'll see statues of them on the rathkeale bypass next.

Or their likeness might miraculously just appear in a tree stump....

uck51js9zml2yt

HanaleiJ5N wrote: »

I'm not from there but I went to secondary school there but I haven't had much reason to go there in the last 13 years, but it's sad to see what has become of the place.

Have a look around the following estate, this is not untypical of what has become of the place. I knew a few lads from this estate growing up, used to visit regularly up to 2000/2001. It was an estate full of families and life.

Now, literally every house in this (admittedly relatively small) empty, all lawns tarmacked or concreted over, almost all windows/doors boarded over, not a single car parked, no sign of life whatsoever. It's the most bizarre thing. I wish I could say more regarding what I know about the nature of how houses like this were bought but I think I'd better leave it there...

Streetview estate in Rathkeale

Do tell.

whisky_galore

Muahahaha wrote: »

Not condoning what they did, its just pretty impressive to gain that amount of money without killing people.

Just keeping an illegal trade stoked up, breaking into and damaging museums and peoples homes. Sure they're victimless crimes....

Still, it is thinking outside the box, with no tarmac involved at all.

NIMAN

Its their culture.

biko

Since museums are culture it means they stole culture.