A €20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the recovery of a stolen shipping container packed with five tonnes of lego and school books destined for children in Malawi.
The container and its contents, valued at more than €50,000, were stolen from outside a house in Clonaslee, Co Laois between 2 February and 7 March last year.
In a post online, Evin Joyce, Director of Ulemu.com, the Irish charity that was filling the container, said they have received new information which has been passed to gardaí.
"From day one, we knew this container couldn't just vanish. We’ve received new information, which has been passed to An Garda Síochána.
"I hope this reward will come to the attention of people with key information to help us get it back," Ms Joyce said.
Children from dozens of schools across Ireland had donated the lego and schoolbooks. They were due to be delivered by the charity to children on Chisi Island in Malawi.
The €20,000 reward has been put forward by Cathal O’Connor whose family business originally supplied the container for the charity project.
"The container and its contents are worth more than €50,000. It’s a pity that it’s necessary but if this reward money gets the lego and school books to the children they were donated to, it will be well spent," Mr O'Connor said.
The 20-foot grey container had the serial number SKIU 292388 marked on it.
