A mother and her four-year-old son were kidnapped for a ransom demand in Northern Ireland, police revealed today.
They were seized by a gang of men at their home near Killough, Co Down, and held for 12 hours at a vacant house in south Belfast, while her partner was ordered to hand over money.
He works for a financial institution in the city. The woman who later managed to free herself from the house at Ravenhill Road last night and although uninjured she and her son were left badly shaken, police said.
The cash had been left somewhere in the greater Belfast area and was collected.
Detective Superintendent Karen Baxter said it was a despicable crime.
She said: “Here we have a mother and a four-year-old child, two vulnerable members of the community, who have been subjected to a frightening ordeal by a gang of organised criminals who cared only for their own personal gain.
“While we know that the woman and her child were not physically harmed, one can only imagine the fear they must have felt as every hour went by, not knowing where their husband and father was, and hoping they would be set free unharmed.”
PA