Tyre probe on Garda

A Garda and two civilians have been arrested following a major criminal investigation into the awarding of a tyre contract involving the force and tyre suppliers Advance Pitstop.

The three people have already been interviewed about the workings of the £600,000 contract by senior gardai after revelations that the tyre company treated senior gardai to a variety of junkets including golf trips to Spain and soccer matches in England. The trips are believed to have cost Advance Pitstop in excess of £45,000.

Suspicions were heightened among senior gardai when it was discovered that Advance Pitstop’s tender for the contract to supply the force with tyres was the most expensive supplier on a Government shortlist of seven companies.