A van driver was kidnapped and had his vehicle hijacked by suspectedd loyalist paramilitaries earlier today in the North.
The victim had just delivered cigarettes to premises inBallycastle, Co Antrim. As he was parking his van in North Street, police said a man claiming to represent the Ulster Volunteer Force approached him and said hewas taking the vehicle.
"The driver was hooded and put in a white workers-type van," a police spokesman said.
He was driven for more than an hour before being released on a road near Glengormley, about 50 miles away.
The spokesman said: "The victim was very badly shaken and is suffering from shock but is not believed to be physically injured".
Detectives were tonight still hunting for the van which contained cash and cigarettes.
PA