The chase
Gardaí arrested three men after a pursuit of a stolen VW Golf on the M50, according to RTÉ, with the chase starting around 7pm on 18 October 2026. Officers on patrol in north Dublin, investigating burglaries and criminal damage, saw a car with several occupants on the Naul Road near Dublin Airport. The driver did not stop, and gardaí followed it while Air Support, local and divisional units and the Armed Support Unit were dispatched. The car came to a halt on the M50 near Clondalkin, where two men in their 20s and a teenager were detained. They were taken to garda stations in north Dublin, and no injuries were reported. The VW Golf had been reported stolen in a burglary in Santry, and it is being technically examined.
A wider gang
The Irish Independent reported that the arrests involved four members of a suspected car theft and burglary gang, a count that differs from the three named by RTÉ. According to that outlet's sources, the group had carried out a crime spree across the capital in the week before the chase and had avoided arrest several times. The pursuit ran for about an hour, starting near Dublin Airport and ending close to the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre. The Independent reported that the car was seen driving the wrong way down a dual carriageway and collided with several vehicles along the way. The gang members abandoned their car near Liffey Valley shortly before 8pm and tried to escape on foot after stripping off their clothes.
Weapons and the Malahide break-in
A search of the car recovered several weapons, including knives, hammers and golf clubs, according to the Irish Independent. The paper's sources said the gang is suspected of breaking into several cars across north Dublin in the early hours of 18 October, including a Golf parked in a driveway in Malahide at around 4.30am. Footage of that incident, which has been widely shared online, shows the homeowner confronting the group as they rummaged through the vehicle. The Independent reported that the group ran off, returned within seconds with golf clubs, smashed the windows of the car and the house, and demanded the car keys. The same account says another car owner was beaten with golf clubs during the spree.
Custody and next steps
The suspects remained in custody at north Dublin garda stations on the evening of 18 October. Sources told the Independent they are expected to be questioned about a series of offences committed across Dublin and Meath in the week before the arrests. The gang is suspected of the car break-ins, but no charges are reported in the articles. RTÉ said its investigation into the stolen Golf and the chase is ongoing, and the arrests came after several failed attempts to detain the group.