Border Force now involved in search for 'brazen' Irish scammers

Police are now working with Australian Border Force to find a gang of Irish scammers who are ripping off Queenslanders.

The women and children are accused of stealing and scamming businesses while men posing as tradies have allegedly defrauded elderly residents of tens of thousands of dollars.

For months the suspected scammers have been terrorising Brisbane and its surrounding areas, but police now are moving in to bring their spree to an end.

"What we have before us is what appears to be a group of people who appear to be incredibly brazen, disrespectful and they're likely to continue to reoffend," Deputy Superintendent Tony Fleming, Brisbane Regional Crime Coordinator, said.

Investigators believe nine men and women are linked to a dozen crimes committed since January.

They believe children also play major roles in their alleged crimes. In one case at luxury store Chanel, two of the women allegedly distracted a staff member while a child slipped a pair of shoes into a pram.

"Very seamless, very seamless. It makes me wonder how much practice they've had," Det Supt Fleming said.

The scammers came to attention after restaurants accused them of planting hair and glass in meals to get free food and drink.

The women have also targeted retailers with Baby Bunting at McGregor suspecting one of the prams seen in CCTV footage being paraded by the women is stolen.

The men are accused of defrauding homeowners, allegedly fleecing elderly residents of thousands of dollars with bogus agreements to fix roofs and driveways.

Investigators say the main goal is to stop the group ripping off anyone else. Once they're found police will weigh up their best options, deciding whether to to charge and prosecute the travellers or remove them from the country.

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"If we can prove someone's done the wrong thing in terms of these defraudings, the numbers are so high that we may well need to look at restitution for victims," Det Supt Fleming said.

One property manager claims the group destroyed four brand new apartments in Brisbane's southside.

Police admitted its possible they've already left town but vowed to track them down.

"We are going to find them the only question is when," Det Supt Fleming promised.