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19/08/2011
Tiger Kidnappers 'Withdraw' Over £200K
A mother and son were freed unharmed last night after falling victim to a so-called 'tiger kidnapping' gang who forced the woman's husband to steal cash from a north Belfast security firm as a 'ransom'.
The woman and her teenage son were last night located in the Irish Republic at Mullyash near Castleblayney, Co Monaghan.
They were freed after being abducted and moved between several locations, until being locked in an isolated shed near the Border.
It is believed that the firm was the US-owned security company Brinks Matt in the Dargan Road Industrial Estate and that the gang escaped with more than £200,000 that was forced from the CIT driver.
He went to work 'as normal' yesterday while acting under coercion with the robbery only uncovered after the Irish fire service was called to the Mullyash area after a vehicle was found on fire near the house where the couple were being held.
It is thought that a security cordon was thrown around the area as a huge joint Gardaí and PSNI operation got under way on either side of the border.
The cash may have been on route to replenish ATM machines, with the sum of money being roughly equivalent to that required to refill two automated teller machines.
A PSNI statement said that police are investigating the reported tiger kidnapping and said that it took place in the Lagmore area of Dunmurry, Belfast on Wednesday 17 August.
The PSNI statement said: "A number of armed males forced their way into the victim's home at around 10pm on Wednesday night and abducted a woman and her teenage son.
"Her husband, who works for a cash in transit company (CIT), was forced to attend work as usual on Thursday.
"Thieves then made off with a substantial sum of cash from his vehicle on Thursday afternoon."
The PSNI said they were alerted to the incident on Thursday evening and were then contacted by An Gardaí Siochana who discovered the woman and her son as they responded to a report of a burnt out van on the Castleblayney Road in Co Monaghan at around 8pm.
"The family were not injured but are extremely traumatised following their ordeal," said the PSNI, who added: "Detectives are currently liaising with An Gardaí Siochana.
"The investigation is at a very early stage but we are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed any suspicious activity in the Lagmore area on Wednesday evening or the Newtownhamilton to Castleblayney Road on Thursday evening to contact detectives on 0845 600 8000.
"If someone would prefer to provide information without giving their details, they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111," the statement concluded.
Condemned
The Alliance MLA Trevor Lunn has expressed his shock over the incident: "This must have been an extremely traumatic and horrific ordeal for this family.
"The people responsible for this kidnapping obviously have no consideration for the well being of other people. They are callous thugs who are offering nothing to our society.
"These people must be urgently apprehended and brought before the courts, so I would urge anybody with any information about this kidnapping to contact the police," he said, this morning.
Sinn Fein's Jennifer McCann has also hit out at those involved in the kidnapping of a family in Belfast on Wednesday night.
"The criminal gang involved in this attack on a local family need to be apprehended immediately.
"This gang violated a local family home abducting the mother and son placing enormous stress on the entire family. This is a vicious attack on the entire community and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
"This type of criminal activity has no place in society and I would ask anyone with any information to pass it on to the PSNI," she said, this afternoon.
(BMcC/GK)
The woman and her teenage son were last night located in the Irish Republic at Mullyash near Castleblayney, Co Monaghan.
They were freed after being abducted and moved between several locations, until being locked in an isolated shed near the Border.
It is believed that the firm was the US-owned security company Brinks Matt in the Dargan Road Industrial Estate and that the gang escaped with more than £200,000 that was forced from the CIT driver.
He went to work 'as normal' yesterday while acting under coercion with the robbery only uncovered after the Irish fire service was called to the Mullyash area after a vehicle was found on fire near the house where the couple were being held.
It is thought that a security cordon was thrown around the area as a huge joint Gardaí and PSNI operation got under way on either side of the border.
The cash may have been on route to replenish ATM machines, with the sum of money being roughly equivalent to that required to refill two automated teller machines.
A PSNI statement said that police are investigating the reported tiger kidnapping and said that it took place in the Lagmore area of Dunmurry, Belfast on Wednesday 17 August.
The PSNI statement said: "A number of armed males forced their way into the victim's home at around 10pm on Wednesday night and abducted a woman and her teenage son.
"Her husband, who works for a cash in transit company (CIT), was forced to attend work as usual on Thursday.
"Thieves then made off with a substantial sum of cash from his vehicle on Thursday afternoon."
The PSNI said they were alerted to the incident on Thursday evening and were then contacted by An Gardaí Siochana who discovered the woman and her son as they responded to a report of a burnt out van on the Castleblayney Road in Co Monaghan at around 8pm.
"The family were not injured but are extremely traumatised following their ordeal," said the PSNI, who added: "Detectives are currently liaising with An Gardaí Siochana.
"The investigation is at a very early stage but we are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed any suspicious activity in the Lagmore area on Wednesday evening or the Newtownhamilton to Castleblayney Road on Thursday evening to contact detectives on 0845 600 8000.
"If someone would prefer to provide information without giving their details, they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111," the statement concluded.
Condemned
The Alliance MLA Trevor Lunn has expressed his shock over the incident: "This must have been an extremely traumatic and horrific ordeal for this family.
"The people responsible for this kidnapping obviously have no consideration for the well being of other people. They are callous thugs who are offering nothing to our society.
"These people must be urgently apprehended and brought before the courts, so I would urge anybody with any information about this kidnapping to contact the police," he said, this morning.
Sinn Fein's Jennifer McCann has also hit out at those involved in the kidnapping of a family in Belfast on Wednesday night.
"The criminal gang involved in this attack on a local family need to be apprehended immediately.
"This gang violated a local family home abducting the mother and son placing enormous stress on the entire family. This is a vicious attack on the entire community and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
"This type of criminal activity has no place in society and I would ask anyone with any information to pass it on to the PSNI," she said, this afternoon.
(BMcC/GK)
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