Raiders rob women in investment scheme

Armed raiders stole a large sum of money from a group of Dublin women holding a meeting of a private investment scheme last night.

The meeting of the Women Empowering Women group was attended by up to 70 women. Up to 35 women were in the house when the robbery in Blackrock occurred at 9.30 p.m.

Two men armed with a handgun and a sledgehammer burst into the house and fired at least one shot. The men took up to £60,000 in cash and escaped in a jeep. Two accomplices were in the jeep, which was later found burnt out.

The green Mitsubishi jeep was stolen from Rathdrum in the early hours of Wednesday morning. When discovered it had the false registration 93D 35834.

A similar scheme in the Isle of Wight collapsed recently. The Women Empowering Women group there required people to invest £3,000 each.

To circumvent regulations governing such schemes, people who joined had to declare they were giving the money away as a gift.

To make a return on the £3,000 investment, members had to recruit a further eight people.

The schemes collapse once there are not enough people left to recruit.