OINRI Jackson, joint-master of the Tara Harriers Hunt, had his 171-registered Equi Trek horse van, worth €50,000, stolen last week in yet another case of thieves targeting hunt meets.

Last Thursday’s unscheduled meet of the Tara Harriers was at O’Connell’s Pub in Skryne, Co Meath, and Jackson has reason to believe that whoever is behind the theft is closely monitoring hunt meets around the area. This latest incident follows the theft of three vehicles near Slane last month as the Co Meath Hunt hunted near the area.

When Jackson returned from hunting at about 4.30pm on Thursday, February 15th, he noticed his horse box had been unhitched from the Peugeot boxer Equi Trek and the €50,000 vehicle was gone. Jackson had the key of his Equi Trek vehicle in his breast pocket.

After immediately phoning the Gardaí and being put through to the station in Ashbourne, Co Meath, Jackson used a tracker device on his wallet, which was still in the vehicle, to track it to Pleasant Street, Dublin 8 in Dublin city centre.

He updated the Gardaí and asked them to go to the location, but he was extremely disappointed with the lack of interest shown by the Gardaí in both Ashbourne and subsequently Kevin Street Garda Station.

Speaking to The Irish Field, Jackson said: “I saw my vehicle in Dublin and I phoned the Gardaí again. We drove straight to be where the vehicle was, I thought I might be able to block it in.

“I rang Peter King who is a Garda and whips-in to the Tara Harriers and he rang some associates in Kevin Street and asked them to call around. When we got there, there was no sign of the vehicle or the Gardaí.

“We waited two hours and they never turned up. I rang Kevin Street again and they told me trackers are not reliable and nobody called me back.”

Jackson rang local businesses in the vicinity himself to see if they may have seen his horsebox. One local employee had indeed noticed the vehicle, thinking it unusual to see it in the city centre.

“She is willing to give Gardai a statement. Local companies have cameras (CCTV) there too. To my knowledge, nobody has called out to take a statement yet,” Jackson said.

He continued: “I asked the Gardaí if they would get in contact with the ports and they told me they could not get through to them. I emailed all the major ports with images last Friday morning and it hadn’t been reported stolen to them.

“The lack of interest has been really disappointing. The opportunity to find it was when we called Kevin Street Garda Station. It could have been seized that evening because the traffic in the city centre at the time of the day would have been locked down.”

The hunting cap, a substantial sum of money, was in the vehicle when it was stolen, as well as credit cards, a Patey hat and a mobile phone, which has been turned off. Jackson believes the van may still be in Ireland and asked the public to look out for the charcoal and silver Peugeot boxer Equi Trek with the number plate 171-MH-4240.

A spokesperson for the Garda Press Office said: “An investigation into the matter is ongoing and Gardaí are appealing for anyone with information to contact them at Ashbourne Garda Station 01-8010600 or any Garda Station.”