MEMBERS of Crossmaglen Community Safety Group and the Police Service were involved in an incident recently which resulted in the arrest of a man suspected of stealing a jeep from a farm in Cullyhanna.
The jeep was stolen at around 5pm on Saturday last weekend from a farmyard near Cullyhanna. The owner of the vehicle gave chase to the thief who was taking the jeep in the direction of Crossmaglen, but abandoned it on the Carran Road about two miles outside Crossmaglen.
Local Sinn Féin councillor, Terry Hearty praised the work of the Safety Group who were on the scene as soon as the alarm was raised.
“Really the Safety Group members must be commended for the way in which they handled this incident. They learned very quickly that this vehicle had been stolen and that following the abandonment of the vehicle the thief had tried to escape over the fields.
“Within a very short space of time there were a number of Safety Group members in the area where the thief had last been seen. They managed to locate and detain the man until the PSNI arrived.
“It came to light soon after that this man had also tried to break in to another vehicle, most likely his intention was to use it as a getaway car.”
MP for Newry Armagh Conor Murphy (main picture) also commented on the event saying: “This incident demonstrates the local community engaging effectively with the PSNI in order to apprehend a criminal who tried to steal two vehicles from this area.
“This shows the value of community safety projects and highlights the willingness of a strong nationalist community to operate in conjunction with the police to deliver effective outcomes.”
