(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Irish police have charged nine people after looters raided a Lidl supermarket and smashed through the roof with a mechanical digger during a national red alert for freezing weather.
Video footage posted online showed the digger breaking through the roof of the German retailer in west Dublin on Friday night while most stores were closed due to ice, snow and winds brought by Storm Emma.
Nine men, aged 24 to 47, appeared in a Dublin court yesterday to answer charges including theft, burglary, trespassing and handling stolen goods linked to the supermarket and a smaller store nearby, the police said.
Three of the men were remanded in custody by Dublin's Courts of Criminal Justice, and the other six were released on bail pending second court appearances later this month, Irish media said.
The police said their units were deployed late on Friday in west Dublin's Tallaght area following reports of burglary and theft of vehicles.
Lidl Ireland confirmed a 'very serious incident at our Fortunestown Lane store, adding in a statement on Twitter that the store was closed and therefore no staff members were injured.
The Irish Independent said a gang of men apparently used the digger to try to smash open a safe at the supermarket, while national broadcaster RTE reported that the safe was found lying outside the store, partially open.
Police who first reached the supermarket on foot 'immediately came under attack from the growing gang of looters who threw stones, snowballs and other objects, the newspaper said.
'Treacherous driving conditions hampered the garda [police] response as some approach roads were virtually impassable, the newspaper said.
Some 50 officers eventually responded to the incident, including an armed support unit.
Armed police continued to patrol the area in a six-wheel drive military vehicle yesterday, the newspaper said.
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