Gary Cardiff once pinned down a thief who stole his carbon-fibre racing bicycle outside a north Dublin supermarket. He held him down until gardaí arrived.

Now, thieves are coming at him again – and this time in waves.

Gardaí suspect some of them are from the Lucky Dip Gang, who present more like TikTok content creators rather than a Dublin-based crime gang.

Gardaí refer to them as a “crime wave” and “a gang” interchangeably. They engage in crime – specifically, burglaries and joyriding, often pursued by gardaí – so they can record their escapades.

“They’re not making any money from it; they just want the videos – it’s all about TikTok for them,” says a Garda source.

Other gardaí describe the Lucky Dip Gang as a loose syndicate of about 60 teenagers and young men from across a wide area of Dublin, including Ballymun, Coolock, Blanchardstown and Ballyfermot.

They have been linked to 20-30 crimes per week at times, though Cardiff’s motorbike has so far eluded them.

The Dubliner keeps his high-powered Honda Fireblade locked up outside his house in Inchicore on the western side of Dublin city. Over the last six months his doorbell camera has recorded masked teenagers trying to steal it “at least eight times”.

Clips capture the failed efforts of various groups – all masked with hoods and snoods – as they check the bike and realise stealing it is beyond them, it is so securely locked up. Their youth is clear in the videos.

They use the torches on their phones, or headlamps, in the dar