Garda warning as bales stolen in Esker area

GARDAI have issued a warning to farmers to lock all gates and to keep a regular check on their fodder supplies, following the brazen theft of 30 round bales of silage in the Athenry area.

The silage had been stored away from the main farmyard and home of the farmer but Gardai are hopeful that someone could be in a position to give them information in relation to the theft.

The raiders struck between 12 midnight on Thursday, January 25 and 2pm on the following Saturday, January 27 – the bales would be valued in the region of €1,200.

In all probability the raid would have involved one, or possibly two tractors, equipped with a front loader and with a large trailer attached.

Galway Crime Prevention Officer, Sgt. Pat Flanagan, has appealed for anyone who saw any suspicious movements of tractors and trailers in the Esker area from the Thursday night of January 25 to the Saturday evening of June 27, to make contract with the Gardai.

“This operation would have had to involve heavy enough plant so there maybe someone out there who noticed suspicious activity in that area between those times.

“It is an unusual theft but I would ask farmers to take as many sensible security precautions as possible such as locking gates and in ensuring that access to bales and fodder is restricted as much as possible.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.