"Substantial amount of jewellery" taken in early morning break-in

Gardaí in Athlone have confirmed a “substantial amount of jewellery” was stolen from a local jewellery shop in an early morning break-in today, five years after another audacious heist at the store.

A technical examination is taking place this morning at Park Jewellers in Golden Island Shopping Centre on foot of the burglary at 3.15am.

Sgt Dermot Monaghan from Athlone Garda Station confirmed to the Westmeath Independent that a “substantial amount of jewellery” was taken in the incident but there is no value as of yet as staff work out a full inventory of exactly what has been stolen.

CCTV footage is currently being examined by officers who understand three masked raiders were involved.

A door was forced to gain entry into the shopping centre.

Sgt Monaghan has appealed to anyone who may have seen any activity around Golden Island Shopping Centre before or after 3am this morning (Thursday) to contact Athlone Garda Station.

The front window of the store was also smashed during the incident.

No other shops were targeted in the shopping centre.

Back in 2018, the same business lost €250,000 worth of jewellery in an audacious break-in which left the shop closed for several months.

The dramatic theft at the premises occurred during the Storm Emma snowstorm in early March when the raiders cut a hole in the roof of the shopping centre to gain entry.

It's believed the latest raid on the store is of less value than five years ago, but is still a substantial loss for the local business.