Cowen concern at kidnap of Irishman in Iran

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Brian Cowen has written to the Iranian Government to express his concern at the kidnapping of an Irish citizen by drug traffickers.

But Minister Cowen also praised the Gulf State for its “prompt action” in organizing contact between the Irish Embassy in Tehran and those leading the inquiry into the disappearance of Aidan Leahy and his two German companions.

The trio was kidnapped earlier this month as they cycled towards Zahedan in Sistan Baluchistan, a province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan and a major drug trafficking route.