Stolen Tipper Trucks, and other valuable construction machinery, taken from Irish building sites, are being flogged in the Middle East, according to Gardai sources.

The expensive equipment is being sold-off in countries like Saudi Arabia and Dubai, where the construction trade is booming.

The police said thieves are maximising the massive opportunities posed by the surge in foreign building demand.

Irish police have hinted criminal gangs in Limerick are heavily involved in stealing and shipping the goods to England where it is then transported to the Far East.

The rapid availability of equipment, left on abandoned building sites, has been the result of the Irish building slowdown.

-- Advertisement --

Construction firms have been urged to ensure their sites are secure and where possible, implement tighter safety measures.

Meanwhile, in other news, Irish motorists have met the new M50 pay-as-you-go toll tag with confusion.

The tag has promised to provide motorists with a cheap rate for using the barrier-free motorway.

However, a number of drivers have found the new system somewhat complicated.

Those who log onto tolltag.ie can pay €2.20 in advance to pass the road, while those travelling without a tag are charged €3.

The barrier-free tolling is introduced at the end of this month.

All motorists using the East Link toll on the motorway will have to install a pre-purchased €30 electronic tag on their vehicle or face paying higher toll charges.

The tags can be topped up in the same way as a mobile phone.

Cameras on the M50 will record licence plates so tolls can be collected.

These must then be paid the following day. However, motorists are confused as to how this will happen.

Motorists who pre-register their vehicle and provide credit card details will pay €2.50 every time they pass through the toll point.

However, motorists without a tag and who are not pre-registered will have until 8pm the following day to pay the €3 toll.

Kerry-based Pierse & Fitzgibbon has won the contract to enforce the tolling system.

(PR/KMcA)