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| Kidnap gang paid £200,000 ransom | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A gang who held a County Down woman and her four-year-old son hostage for 12 hours is believed to have been paid a ransom of £200,000. | |
| The partner and child of a man employed by a financial institution were taken from their Killough home on Wednesday. | |
| They were taken to a vacant house in the Ravenhill area of south Belfast and held hostage for 12 hours while the man was told to get money. | They were taken to a vacant house in the Ravenhill area of south Belfast and held hostage for 12 hours while the man was told to get money. |
| The woman freed herself and her son at about 1900 BST and alerted police. | |
| The man had been ordered to leave the cash in the Greater Belfast area. | The man had been ordered to leave the cash in the Greater Belfast area. |
| The mother and child were physically unharmed but very shaken by their ordeal. | The mother and child were physically unharmed but very shaken by their ordeal. |
| Detective Superintendent Karen Baxter said it was a despicable crime. | Detective Superintendent Karen Baxter said it was a despicable crime. |
| "Here we have a mother and a four-years-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," she said. | "Here we have a mother and a four-years-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," she said. |
| They were taken to a vacant house in the Ravenhill area of Belfast | They were taken to a vacant house in the Ravenhill area of Belfast |
| "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." | "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." |
| Police said they were particularly interested in talking to anyone who was in the area of Seaview Road, Killough, in the early hours of Wednesday, who may have seen a woman and small child being put into a vehicle. | Police said they were particularly interested in talking to anyone who was in the area of Seaview Road, Killough, in the early hours of Wednesday, who may have seen a woman and small child being put into a vehicle. |
| They said that anyone in the Ravenhill Road area at the junction of Park Road who saw a woman and small boy being taken to a house, or any other activity that they thought seemed strange should also contact them. | They said that anyone in the Ravenhill Road area at the junction of Park Road who saw a woman and small boy being taken to a house, or any other activity that they thought seemed strange should also contact them. |