A GARDA FROM CountyWexford has been arrested and questioned about an alleged bogus collection for his “seriously ill wife”.
It is understood that the garda, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had told his local community that his wife was suffering from cancer and urgently needed medical treatment in the United States.
He is alleged to have organised a collection in his area, which raised funds to cover the costs of the trip.
Investigating officers believe that over €120,000 was gathered over a few months as a result of donations made by friends and neighbours to what was described as “a good cause”.
The long-serving garda was arrested on Monday morning by detectives who had been working on the case since late last year.
He was detained on suspicion of deception and taken for questioning to the garda station in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny.
He was held there under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and released from custody that night.
A senior officer said that a file would now be prepared for detectives by the Director of Public Prosecutions, who would determine if criminal charges should be brought.
Gardai have accounted for around half of the donated money since their inquiries began and are still trying to track down a number of people who were allegedly duped into handing over money but have not yet come forward and contacted detectives.
They believe that some of the donors were embarrassed at apparently being duped and were reluctant to make complaints to the investigation team.
It is understood that gardai are trying to establish exactly why the officer ended up “going down this road”.
One of the theories being pursued is that the money was to be used to meet gambling debts, but investigators stressed that a number of lines of inquiry were being followed up.
A source said: “People are very shocked over this because he always came across as such as a lovely, genuine man who was at the heart of the community he worked in.
“He is an old-school garda who would have known everyone.”
[For full story, see this week’s Echo]