CROSS-Border thieves have struck again in the village of Newtowncunningham – leaving the community there angered and bewildered.
This time the Chinese family which owns and runs the village takeaway were the victims.
Two men in their late 20s arrived at the chinese takeaway with their faces partially covered, one remained in the vehicle whilst the other entered the takeaway armed with an knife and a hammer demanding money.
Local councillor Paul Canning told us: “The attendant was suspicious and had taken down the vehicle registration of which he gave to the Garda.
“Even though the Garda were able to identify the registration as that of a stolen vehicle they were still too late to prevent this vehicle from crossing the border at Killea
“It took the Garda 45minutes to arrive at the scene, notwithstanding the fact that when the phonecall was made to both the Newtown Barracks and the Letterkenny Barracks the number rang out and the response only came when 999 was contacted.”
Despite the robbery the Chinese takeaway stayed open – and continued to serve loyal patrons.
CLLR CANNING
“This is a young chinese family that have set up a business and their roots in Newtowncunningham, paying rates to the local authority, employing local people and offering a service to this community,” said Cllr Canning.
“It really dissapoints me that we are not giving the proper protection to these people within our local border areas, what is it going to take for the senior officials within the Garda forces to realise the need for extra manpower and Patrol Cars within these areas.”
He praised the family for continuing to work through the night to serve the local community.
It’s just the latest robbery in the village – with almost every local business robbed in the past few months.
