Video shows stolen high-powered Audi believed to be linked to prolific burglary gang

It comes as new footage emerged of the high-powered Audi RS6 gardaí suspect the gang used to target homes across the country in recent weeks.

Two men were arrested and two others escaped after a house in Carrickmacross, Monaghan, was broken into and ransacked at around 6pm on Saturday evening.

As the gang escaped they were intercepted by an armed unit along the M1 near Drogheda and crashed their car after suffering a blow-out.

While two suspects were arrested, two others managed to escape on foot and fled through a field.

Gardaí now believe they then broke into a property in the nearby Oldbridge area in Co Meath, where they stole a Renault Clio before driving back to Dublin.

An alert with the cars’ details was issued to gardaí but no further arrests have yet been made.

Detectives believe the gang had been using the Audi RS6, fitted with false plates, to target homes across the country in recent weeks.

The two Tallaght based suspects arrested are aged in their late teens and mid-20s and are known to gardaí for involvement in organised burglaries.

One of them is a 26-year-old criminal who is considered a key member of a cross-border burglary gang who has also been a target of the PSNI.

They are part of a wider criminal network operating in groups of four or five who mainly target residential homes across the country.

A senior source said: "This crew are essentially a sub-unit of a wider organised criminal network. They have primarily links to the Tallaght area but have connections nationwide.

"Gardaí have had great success against these gangs in recent months but when one are caught, another is straight in to carry on.”

The suspects in custody can be held for up to seven days and gardaí are expected to quiz them about the Carrickmacross burglary and a series of other raids.

They had recently been using the Audi RS6 which can reach 100kmph in 3.6 seconds.

Footage obtained by Independent.ie shows the car undertaking another vehicle at speed in the hard shoulder lane near Enfield, Meath, during the burglary spree last week.

A Garda spokesman said they are continuing to carry out investigations into the burglary in Monaghan yesterday evening.

"No cash or items have been reported stolen at this time. An amount of damage was caused to the property.

"A short time later, a vehicle identified as being used in the burglary incident came to the attention of Gardaí on the M1 in the Drogheda area.

"The vehicle came to a stop when it suffered tyre damage and a number of individuals fled on foot.

"Two men, aged 20s and late teens, were arrested and taken to Drogheda Garda Station where they are currently detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007," the spokesman added.

Gardaí also confirmed they were investigating the theft of a car from a residential premises in Oldbridge that same evening.

The most recent garda figures show that residential burglaries increased by 10pc in the 12 months up to April of this year.

However, the number of break-ins recorded is still significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels.