An "aggressive" girl-led gang assaulted and robbed an elderly man in a shopping centre using a 'ketchup trick'.
The incident took place at Artane Castle Shopping Centre in Dublin on Saturday morning, November 23.
The man, in his 70s, was set upon by a group of three after one approached him and put ketchup on his jacket.
After spilling the condiment on the man, they told the pensioner and pretended to help him clean it off.
Caught off guard and thinking that he was receiving a random act of kindness from a member of the public, two of the other thugs then came over and stole his wallet.
He described the attackers - two men and one woman - as "aggressive" and was worried that they may have known him.
The elderly man's wallet was recovered a short time later but he was shaken following the ordeal.
In a statement to Dublin Live, a spokeswoman for gardai said: "We can confirm that we attended the scene of a robbery at a shopping centre on Kilmore Road, Artane on Saturday morning at approximately 11am.
"One man in his early 70s was assaulted by two men and a woman and property was taken from him, which was later recovered.
"He received no injuries and investigations are ongoing."
