A WOMAN has spoke of her ordeal after a fake Garda car attempted to pull her over and drive her to the side of the road just outside Enniscorthy last week.
There has been an alarming rise in the amount of incidents reported involving fake unmarked garda cars across the county in recent weeks, culminating in a terrifying attack on a woman in Murrintown. The woman pulled over when she saw flashing blue lights behind her and was subsequently assaulted and robbed and left at the side of the road.
Boolavogue native Aileen Dempsey, thankfully, had been aware of such incidents when she saw flashing blue lights in her rear-view mirror last Tuesday night as she travelled between her home and Enniscorthy at around 7.30 p.m. Having heard of previous incidents, Aileen (35)
decided not to pull in on the secluded stretch of road when she saw the flashing blue lights on the dashboard of the red Ford Focus car.
“I came to a cross in the roads and saw the lights behind me,” said Aileen. “I had heard the stories, so I wasn’t going to pull in on a quiet stretch of road. They kept following me and when we came to the power station at Monageer, they pulled out in front of me and slammed on the brakes. Thankfully I was able to pass them and I kept going. Then they did the same thing at White’s Hill.”
Aileen eventually made it as far as the Mr Price car park where there were other people around and pulled in. When she did this, the car pursuing her, which contained two males, turned off the flashing blue lights and continued on into Enniscorthy leaving her incredibly shaken.
“I was terrified,” she said. “Everything was going through my head at the time. I was thinking, what would happen if they stopped in the middle of the road and I couldn’t get by them? Or what if I ran into the back of them?”
After the car drove away, Aileen immediately rang her sister to get the number for Enniscorthy Garda Station and she informed them of the ordeal.
“They asked how I knew that it wasn’t a real Garda car,” she said. “I told them that I wasn’t taking any chances and that the car had driven off when I eventually pulled in. Then they asked me how many people were in the car and I told them two, and they asked if I got the registration plate and I said no, that I was too busy concentrating on getting by them. Then the garda on the other end of the phone said they’d keep an eye out for it. I was a bit disgusted that nobody came out to me to be honest. I was shaking. It was about twenty minutes before I could continue my journey.”
Aileen travels that particular stretch of road between her home and Enniscorthy regularly, but she said that the incident has now left her nervous.
“I would be a bit nervous now yeah,” she said. “I try not to drive alone and I bring the dog with me in the car now too. It’s worrying though. A lot of older people in particular may not have seen some of the stories going around and would pull in straight away when they see the flashing lights. I would advise them to keep their doors locked and if they do see a car that’s suspicious behind them, just keep going until you get to a well lit area. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
Enniscorthy Gardaí have said that they have had a number of reports of bogus unmarked Garda cars operating in the area and they are doing their best to monitor it, but say it’s a “difficult situation”. They have advised people to “keep their own personal safety in mind”, but have conceded that it can be difficult to tell if an unmarked car is genuine or not. They are continuing to investigate the problem, but Aileen said that she was anxious to get the word out to people who may not have heard to be careful when travelling the roads around the district.
Aileen Dempsey who was pursued by a fake Garda car which attempted to pull her over near Enniscorthy. Pic: John Walsh