A 36 year old man is due in court later today after he was arrested by gardai when they received reports that a man was throwing over €20,000 in cash at motorists in Galway on Saturday.
The man was arrested by officers after they were called to the Skerrit Roundabout on the Old Dublin Road in Galway city when they received reports a man was throwing money at motorists
Two off duty female gardai were out walking when they spotted the man throwing cash at cars going around the roundabout and they promptly contacted colleagues who raced to the scene.
Gardaí arrested the man, who was under the influence of intoxicants at the time, for public order offences, and when they searched him, they found that he had €10,000 worth of cocaine.
They also recovered over €20,000 in cash from motorists who handed back the money, and it’s understood that the man will be charged with both drug and theft offences later today.
Gardaí believe the money was the proceeds of a theft in Listowel when a businessman had €120,000 stolen as he was preparing make about a cash lodgement to a bank in the town.
The businessman was about to make the lodgement at 7.30am on Thursday when a thief snatched a laptop bag containing a laptop and the cash from his car at Clieveragh. in the town.
Gardaí in Listowel launched an immediate investigation and harvesting CCTV from various locations around the town, were able to identify the suspect and another person of interest,
They also found the laptop and €2,000 dumped in a ditch and both the laptop and cash were sent for an examination by garda technical experts for an examination for fingerprints and DNA.
The man was arrested in Galway was taken to a local garda station for questioning where he was charged last night with both drug and theft offences and is due in court in Galway later today.
