Gardaí investigating thefts from and the coercion of vulnerable adults in Dublin city centre this week have arrested two teenage girls.
The arrests follow reports of the adults being accosted by two girls and taken to ATM machines to withdraw money.
Ruth Spurling explained how her 23-year-old son Joshua, who has Down syndrome, was approached by two girls in a shop who took his card to a machine in the shop.
The manager intervened but the girls waited for Joshua outside and brought him from Aston Quay to the GPO.
They withdrew €500 and made five more attempts to get more money in other amounts. They held him for around 30 minutes and demanded he buy them food.
Around €700 was also taken from the account of another vulnerable adult.
Gardaí said they were investigating thefts on Monday and Tuesday of this week involving people being taken to cash points and retailers, and coerced into making substantial purchases and withdrawing sums of cash which were then stolen.
Officers from the Serious Crime Unit at Pearse Street Garda Station today arrested two female juvenile teens in connection with these incidents.
They are both being detained at a garda station in Dublin under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and can be questioned for up to 24 hours.
Gardaí have also appealed to anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a similar incident in Dublin city centre in recent days to contact gardaí at Pearse Street Garda Station on 01 666 9000.
