Gardaí were on Wednesday night still questioning a man about the alleged abduction of a woman in Co Wicklow before she was driven in the suspect’s van for over 300km across the country.
The man being detained is from the Midlands, in his 40s, and had previously come to the attention of gardaí.
The Irish Times understands the woman, who is in her 30s and is from Britain, knew the man before the incident on Tuesday. It resulted in a nationwide alert being sent to all gardaí, followed by an appeal to the public for assistance.
The alarm was first raised with gardaí early on Tuesday when a member of the public reported seeing a woman in a very distressed state in the passenger seat of a van in the Arklow area.
Gardaí began an investigation and when they received another call the level of concern was heightened, after what had initially begun as a suspected public order incident in the early hours of Tuesday.
The van was seen on the approach to Dublin and also in the city centre, though the driver was not apprehended and he soon set out on a journey westwards across the country.
Gardaí then issued an alert to all stations about the Renault Traffic van. However, amid growing concern for the woman, who remained unaccounted for, Garda Headquarters issued a public appeal on Tuesday afternoon.
They issued a description of the vehicle, including its registration number, and urged any member of the public to contact gardaí if they saw the van. However, members of the public were also warned not to approach the vehicle or its driver.
About an hour after the public appeal was issued, gardaí received information that the van was in Co Mayo. It was brought to a stop during a Garda operation and the woman was found inside the vehicle.
“The female passenger was located safe and well and is currently receiving support from members of An Garda Síochána,” a Garda statement said.
“One male, aged in his 40s was arrested for alleged offences, under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997 and is currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a Garda station in the North Western Garda region.”
The suspect was detained in Co Mayo at about 4pm on Tuesday. Gardaí had 24 hours to question him without charge. However, he opted to rest overnight into Wednesday morning, meaning his period of questioning was suspended. As a result, gardaí have until early on Thursday morning to charge him, or release him without charge.
Garda sources said while the incident was “very unusual” it was not random as the suspect and the victim were known to each other and had previously met several times before the suspected false imprisonment began in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
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