CAB to sell digger and car in case against crime gang brothers jailed for ATM robberies

Last March Stephen, Gerard, and Ciaran Duffy were sentenced for their roles in a crime gang that stole nearly €800,000.

They were key members of a criminal network that used stolen diggers to target five bank machines in Cavan, Monaghan and Meath between December 2018 and April 2019.

This week Gerard, who is serving a seven year and nine-month sentence in Portlaoise Prison, was the only one of the three brothers in the CAB case to be represented in court.

Along with the Duffy brothers former GAA referee Niall Finnegan, who got three years for handling stolen cash, is also named in the CAB proceedings aimed at stripping them of ill-gotten gains.

Judge Alex Owens granted an application that allows the Bureau in the meantime to sell two seized vehicles which might otherwise drop in value.

The case was adjourned to allow for Gerard Duffy to put in an affidavit to the court.

The robbery gang were caught during a major garda surveillance operation as they tried to target a sixth ATM in Cavan in August 2019.

After members of the gang were released from garda custody they were watched by the National Surveillance Unit as they went to property where €298,000 in cash along with a money-counting machine were recovered.

At their trial Judge Tony Hunt said that, while the Duffy brothers can only be dealt with on the charges they pleaded guilty to, the other robberies had to be taken into account.

He said the court also took into account the serious criminal organisation involved, the damage caused to buildings and cash machines, and the significant planning that was involved.