Gardaí in Dublin believe they have uncovered an organised extortion racket being run by a prominent member of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) after armed officers raided a house in the west of the city on Friday evening.
Nine people were arrested when a man was found stripped naked, bound and beaten in the bathroom of the house in Tallaght.
Gardaí believe members of the INLA-led gang had kidnapped the man and were about to severely beat him after he had failed to comply with extortion demands.
He had already sustained a number of injuries by the time he was rescued by gardaí.
The victim was found in the bathroom of the house at Cushlawn Drive, Tallaght, when a large team of armed officers moved in shortly before 7pm on Friday.
Members of the Special Detective Unit - who specialise in investigating paramilitary groups - backed by the Emergency Response Unit raided the house, acting on intelligence
The nine - one woman and eight men - were arrested. Aged between 19 and 34, they were taken for questioning to different Dublin Garda stations including Terenure, Rathfarnham, Tallaght and Clondalkin.
They were all detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and can be held for up to 72 hours without charge.
The victim of the attack required medical treatment and was said to be in shock after his ordeal.