Senior Irish diplomats were briefly seized and robbed at gunpoint in Brazil this week before being released unharmed.
Four members of the Irish delegation accompanying the Taoiseach on his visit to Brazil were involved in the incident, in Brazil's largest city, Sao Paolo, on Sunday night. Sao Paolo and Brazil's second-largest city, Rio de Janeiro, are known to have significant crime.
The four were the Irish Ambassador to Portugal, who is also accredited to Brazil, Mr John Campbell; the Irish Vice-Consul in Brazil, Mr Joe Semple; a senior diplomat from Ireland's embassy in Mexico, Ms Sile Maguire; and Mr Campbell's secretary, Ms Isabel Silveira.
As they were being driven by a local Brazilian driver they were accosted by the armed men after they stopped to repair a puncture while driving from the airport.
The two men, armed with handguns, ordered them to sit in the back of the car while they drove them away. When they reached an isolated spot, they ordered them out of the car and took their wallets, jewellery, mobile phones and luggage before driving off.
The Irish made their way to a nearby house from where they called the police. The vehicle was later recovered with all the property missing except a wallet which one of the Irish had hidden between seats in the car before being ordered out.