Garda inquiry after businessman rammed off road and abducted

Gardaí were trying to establish a motive for an attack on a businessman who was abducted off a busy street and held for several hours before being released.

Sources said officers leading the investigation were satisfied the victim was abducted in the manner he claimed.

However, efforts were still being made to establish the motive and to identify those behind the unusual attack, which was witnessed by a number of passing motorists.

The man at the centre of the case, who is in his 40s and is not a criminal, was driving his Mercedes car on the N33 near Ardee, Co Louth, at about 5.30pm on Tuesday when another vehicle hit him from behind.

When the victim's car came to a stop he was set upon by the three occupants of the other car, a grey Toyota Avensis.

After being attacked by the three men on the roadway – a section of the Ardee link road which bypasses Ardee and leads onto the M1 – the victim was then bundled by his attackers into the back of the Avensis and driven away.

The incident occurred as other motorists looked on, some of whom rang An Garda Síochána and described the attack in detail. Some told gardaí the victim's car was deliberately rammed off the road before he was abducted.

Released by abductors

After being driven towards the M1, the victim was released by his abductors a short time later. He presented at Ardee Garda station and provided gardaí there details about three hours after the incident began.

The man, who works in the electronic cigarette trade, is from Northern Ireland and has told gardaí the case was possibly one of mistaken identity.

The Garda inquiry is being conducted from Ardee Garda station and an appeal has been made for witnesses to come forward in confidence.

Closed-circuit television footage recorded in the area is also being examined in a bid to piece together the movements of the attackers in the Toyota Avensis .

Garda sources said the crime was “unusual” and have not discounted the possibility that those behind the attack were from the North and had fled over the Border.