Professional gang linked to Drumlish raid

Details of the incident were first disclosed on the Leader's website www.longfordleader.ie last Friday morning.

That detailed how a small quantity of cash is also believed to have been taken during a raid at Kiernan's Centra sometime during the early hours of last Friday morning.

It's understood thieves gained access to the premises by disabling an alarm system before making their way inside.

The culprits are believed to have spent a considerable amount of time rummaging through the store before making off with their haul.

Detectives have been carrying out enquiries both at the store and in the Drumlish area in the days since in an attempt to establish clues as to the identity of those responsible.

It is the latest break-in to hit the popular north Longford retailer with a similar incident being reported earlier this year.

A source has confirmed that gardaí have launched an investigation and that substantial damage was caused to the building as a result.

Gardaí, however for operational reasons, are not revealing how the raiders made their way into the store.

The Leader understands detectives believe a professional burglary gang may be responsible and are not ruling out the possibility of linking last week's episode to an attempted break-in at the store less than two weeks earlier.

Local Councillor and Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council, Martin Mulleady hit out at the incident.

"I am very disappointed considering that this is a family run business who provide great employment in the area," he said.