Teenager held by gardaí after botched tiger kidnapping
The boy is being held under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act at Henry St Garda station. A man aged 19, whose relatives run a post office in the Limerick area, was abducted at gunpoint and held for nearly two hours before gardaí helped free him.
Events unfolded at about 11.30pm on Sunday at the victim’s house in the Groody area of the city. On answering the front door, he was confronted by at least three men, one of whom was armed with a handgun.
He was bundled into his own 4x4 and a hood was placed over his head. The victim was told he would have to call relatives to get money from the post office.
Over the following hour and a half he was driven to various locations near the city.
At about 1.30am, following reports, gardaí investigated a vehicle seen at Donoughmore, about 8km from the city.
As they did so, the gang jettisoned their victim, who was found distressed and barefoot on the roadway.
The victim told gardaí he had been abducted and was being held at gunpoint in the 4x4.
A major alert went out and a short time later, the 16-year-old was found in the same area and was arrested by gardaí. The 4x4 was yesterday recovered on the Tipperary side of the city. Gardaí believe others beside the three who abducted the man were involved.
The man was not seriously hurt, but had a number of marks and was shaken up.
Det Supt Jim Browne and Det Insp Eamon O’Neill were last night trying to track the movements of known criminals.
Footage from CCTV systems was being examined to see if the 4x4 was filmed after the abduction.
Meanwhile, Limerick gardaí are investigating an assault on a woman in the city centre yesterday afternoon.
In the attack on William St a man wearing a hoodie knocked the woman to the ground after striking her a number of times.
It is believed the woman knew her attacker and refused to make a complaint to gardaí.
