Irish troublemakers slip out of country

About 20 Irish tourists with suspected links to a Queensland crime spree have slipped out of the country.

Two of the women wanted by Queensland Police.

About 20 Irish tourists with suspected links to a Queensland crime spree have slipped out of the country before they could face charges, as more details emerged of their trail of destruction.

Police were yesterday seeking two men and two women still in Australia but claimed the sudden departure of most of the group as a ­victory for community safety.

The exodus of the tourists, who are believed to have boarded flights from Sydney to Asia in the past few days, followed publicity about a spate of brazen crimes involving people with Irish accents.

Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming said police had not been in a position to stop the departure of those who had ­left.

“Upwards of 20 people have left. Those 20 people are not all suspects. But this is a group of people our colleagues in Border Force have identified had some sort of association,” he said. “We weren’t satisfied there was enough to have them ­detained and arrested and extradited from NSW.”

One elderly Gold Coast couple was fleeced of $25,000 for roof repair work that was not completed, and Brisbane restaurants and bars were targeted with fake claims of glass and hair found in meals.

Shop assistants reported women using children in organised shoplifting scams, and landlords complained of properties being trashed, with overflowing toilets stuffed with potatoes.

In Brisbane, Clara Carmichael yesterday said four luxury apartments she managed had been damaged by four separate, associated Irish families who then bombarded her with abusive phone messages. The families had presented well — with one claiming he wanted to be close to a nearby church — but then failed to pay rent and terrorised neighbours.

They moved out in mid-January and their identity documents turned out to be fakes, she said.

“Every unit had holes punched in the walls. There were holes smashed in the vanities,” she said. “One group left in the middle of the night but decided to attach a hose to the bathtub and close all the drains off and flood the whole apartment ... it had potatoes shoved down the toilets.

“Accidents happen but this was malicious damage for really no reason except when they stopped paying the rent we can’t let them stay there.”

One of the men left a message on her phone calling her a “dirty smelly Australian slapper”, and other messages warned that the group knew where she lived.

Superintendent Fleming said: “I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure it’s the last time they are in Australia.”