Man arrested in connection with Down kidnapping

A man was arrested and a substantial amount of cash recovered today by police investigating the kidnap of a mother and son in the North earlier this year.

A ransom of £200,000 (€246,844) is believed to have been paid to secure the freedom of the woman and four-year-old boy who were snatched from their home in Killough, Co Down on May 28.

Police said they arrested a 31-year-old man when they mounted a search operation in north Belfast and recovered what they described as a significant amount of cash.

A number of other items were also recovered and taken away for examination.

In a second search of a property in Carryduff, Co Down, another quantity of cash and other items were recovered, said a the spokesman.

The partner and son of an employee of a financial institution were taken from their home and held hostage while was told to go to his place of work, collect a sum of cash and leave it at a designated spot in the greater Belfast area.

The mother and child were held for 12 hours in a vacant house in the Ravenhill area of south Belfast before the woman was able to free herself and raise the alarm.

Mother and son were physically unharmed but left very shaken by their ordeal.