Probe underway into attempted 'tiger' kidnapping
An armed gang abandoned an attempted tiger kidnapping on the family of a security worker after a panic alarm was set off.
Four masked robbers tried to abduct the man, his wife and their two-year-old son at their home in Kilmeade, near Athy, Co Kildare at 5am today.
The security worker, aged in his 30s, was leaving for work when the gang struck.
A Garda spokesman said the man set off a panic alarm when challenged and the raiders fled on foot.
A white van which the gang had been using was left at the scene and detectives believe the four men may have been picked up nearby in a getaway car.
"Gardaí would like anyone who in the Kilmeade area of Co. Kildare or anyone who was travelling on the N78 between Kilcullen and Athy, in the early hours of this morning to contact them at Kildare Garda Station on 045 527730," gardaí said in a statement.
"Gardaí are also appealing for anyone who may have seen any activity in the Kilmeade area in the last number of days to contact them."
The security worker was an employee with the G4S Cash Solutions company.
A spokeswoman for the firm said it was thankful that the man was unharmed.
“All security systems and procedures worked effectively,” she added.
G4S Ireland specialises in the secure transportation and storage of money and valuables, cash processing for business and a range of support services for ATM networks, parking meters and Luas ticket machines.
It is the fourth attempted tiger kidnapping this year.
An armed gang held a mother and two daughters hostage on Good Friday when they tried to raid a post office in Prosperous, Co Kildare.
A garda was beaten with shovels and bars after he confronted four masked men at a post office in Cloonfad on the Mayo/Roscommon border earlier this month.
And two days before that, GPO An Post executive Liam O’Sullivan, his wife Mary and two children were held up by at least four armed raiders in their Co Kildare home.
