“Come to our doors again and you will leave in a pine box or in plastic bags!” – the stern warning sent out by a terrorised border community which has been relentlessly targeted by criminals.
A section of the crowd at last night’s meeting.
More than 1,500 people last night attended a meeting in Manorcunningham Resource Centre which was told many elderly people had been left prisoners in their homes by gangs operating in the Manor, Raphoe, St Johnston, Convoy, Carrigans and surrounding areas.
The meeting heard pledges totaling €10,000 for solid information leading to the arrest of those responsible for carrying out the robberies, a number of which are believed to be carried out by criminals operating out of Derry.
Speaker after speaker told horror stories of how they had been attacked by gangs in their homes.
They included John Gillen who had a gun smashed in his face.
Businessman and former politician Jim Devenney from Newtown revealed he had been a victim of theft and had lost €15,000.
Local Detective Garda Sgt Michael Galvin assured those present that a huge amount of resources was being put into catching the people behind the aggravated burglaries.
He revealed that he was a resident of Manor for ten years and that he would like nothing better than to see the “thugs” brought to justice.
“Some of our staff are even coming in on their time off to work on these cases,” he said.
But he advised people that they must act within the law.
Organiser Tony Morning said he was overwhelmed by the huge turn-out.
“This goes to show how we will not be beaten by these vermin. We will beat them and we will them out of our communities. They will be eradicated,” he said.
He added the meeting was just the start of a long fightback by the community.
He finished by telling the meeting defiantly: “The message should go out to these vermin, to this scum – come to our doors again and you will leave in a pine box or in plastic bags.”
Tags: