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Five in court over kidnap attempt | |
(about 11 hours later) | |
Five men have appeared in court charged over an alleged attempt to take a family hostage at their home in County Londonderry on Friday. | |
The accused men, with addresses in Belfast and counties Londonderry and Down were all remanded in custody by Londonderry Magistrates Court. | |
The court was told police foiled a tiger kidnapping of three members of the same family in Magherafelt. | |
A detective said he believed the men belonged to a highly organised gang. | |
The three family members, two women and a man, all work in the financial sector. | |
Five men were remanded in custody when they appeared in court on Monday charged with conspiring to kidnap, falsely imprison and rob them at their home. | |
The defendants were: Ruairi Larkin, 24, from Sandymount in Magherafelt, Colm Meli, 27, from Kilkeel Road in Annalong, Brendan Lillif, 58, from Belfast, Terence Lunney, 26, from Nansen Street, Belfast, and Richard Manson, 32, from Sherbey Crescent, Annalong. | |
Mr Lillif, Mr Lunney and Mr Manson were further charged with possessing an imitation firearm. | |
The detective said Mr Lillif had 21 previous convictions for explosives offences and 16 previous convictions for firearms offences. | |
He said he had been released on license for a life-sentence in 1993 and is on licence until 2051. | |
The officers said that Mr Larkin had been a boyfriend of one of the intended victims for two years. | |
He said that during the arrest operation police officers at the scene fired three shots in the air after they heard what they believed was a weapon being cocked. |
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