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| Irish property tycoon's 'kidnappers' may have freed him out of panic | Irish property tycoon's 'kidnappers' may have freed him out of panic |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Detectives investigating the kidnapping and then mystery reappearance of an Irish property tycoon last month believe he may have been freed as a panic reaction to the murder of one of their Garda colleagues. | Detectives investigating the kidnapping and then mystery reappearance of an Irish property tycoon last month believe he may have been freed as a panic reaction to the murder of one of their Garda colleagues. |
| Security sources in the Republic are exploring the theory that Kevin McGeever's captors are one-time Provisional IRA members who are now aligned to armed republican dissidents. | Security sources in the Republic are exploring the theory that Kevin McGeever's captors are one-time Provisional IRA members who are now aligned to armed republican dissidents. |
| The Porsche-driving, helicopter-flying, one-time multi-millionaire turned up last month on a Irish country road, alive but badly emaciated, with the word "thief" etched on his forehead. He had been reported missing by his partner eight months ago after being seized at gun point in the grounds of his luxury mansion in Co Galway. | The Porsche-driving, helicopter-flying, one-time multi-millionaire turned up last month on a Irish country road, alive but badly emaciated, with the word "thief" etched on his forehead. He had been reported missing by his partner eight months ago after being seized at gun point in the grounds of his luxury mansion in Co Galway. |
| Now it is believed McGeever may have been freed by the gang in the wake of the murder of Garda detective Adrian Donohoe near the border with Northern Ireland. | Now it is believed McGeever may have been freed by the gang in the wake of the murder of Garda detective Adrian Donohoe near the border with Northern Ireland. |
| Garda sources say that McGeever's captors feared there would be a nationwide security trawl, targeting the safe houses and suspected sympathisers of criminal gangs and former republican paramilitaries across the Republic in the days after Donohoe's murder on 25 January. | Garda sources say that McGeever's captors feared there would be a nationwide security trawl, targeting the safe houses and suspected sympathisers of criminal gangs and former republican paramilitaries across the Republic in the days after Donohoe's murder on 25 January. |
| The Irish policeman was shot in the head outside a credit union in the village of Jenkinstown in Co Louth during a botched robbery. The killing, which is believed to have been carried out by a cross-border gang, took place just a few days before McGeever was found wandering on a rural road between Swanlinbar and Ballinamore in picturesque, sparsely populated Co Leitrim. | The Irish policeman was shot in the head outside a credit union in the village of Jenkinstown in Co Louth during a botched robbery. The killing, which is believed to have been carried out by a cross-border gang, took place just a few days before McGeever was found wandering on a rural road between Swanlinbar and Ballinamore in picturesque, sparsely populated Co Leitrim. |
| The Guardian understands that the prime suspects behind McGeever's mysterious armed abduction from the garden of his €3m mansion home at Craughwell, Co Galway, eight months earlier are a highly experienced group of ex-paramilitaries with links to dissident republican groups. | The Guardian understands that the prime suspects behind McGeever's mysterious armed abduction from the garden of his €3m mansion home at Craughwell, Co Galway, eight months earlier are a highly experienced group of ex-paramilitaries with links to dissident republican groups. |
| Security sources indicate that this well-organised and ruthless group of individuals became concerned in the hours and days after Donohoe's murder that there would be a countrywide search operation in response to the killing, which might, by chance, stumble upon the hiding place where they were holding McGeever. | Security sources indicate that this well-organised and ruthless group of individuals became concerned in the hours and days after Donohoe's murder that there would be a countrywide search operation in response to the killing, which might, by chance, stumble upon the hiding place where they were holding McGeever. |
| In the initial period after the 41-year-old Garda officer was murdered, there were suspicions that republican dissidents may have been involved, although this line of inquiry was later discounted. There is no suggestion the gang that murdered Donohoe had any connection to the McGeever kidnap. | In the initial period after the 41-year-old Garda officer was murdered, there were suspicions that republican dissidents may have been involved, although this line of inquiry was later discounted. There is no suggestion the gang that murdered Donohoe had any connection to the McGeever kidnap. |
| However, suspicion alone of any anti-ceasefire republican involvement in the days after the murder may have prompted McGeever's captors to release him into the countryside, a gaunt shadow of his former self, five-stone underweight, bearded, dishevelled and disorientated. | However, suspicion alone of any anti-ceasefire republican involvement in the days after the murder may have prompted McGeever's captors to release him into the countryside, a gaunt shadow of his former self, five-stone underweight, bearded, dishevelled and disorientated. |
| "It may be why the people holding Mr McGeever panicked," a security source said. "In the past when republicans have killed Gardai or members of the Irish Defence Forces, the state has rapped every door, every hiding place, every safe house, every sympathiser's home across Ireland. | "It may be why the people holding Mr McGeever panicked," a security source said. "In the past when republicans have killed Gardai or members of the Irish Defence Forces, the state has rapped every door, every hiding place, every safe house, every sympathiser's home across Ireland. |
| "This particular group would have been well aware of the Garda and Defence Forces' MO in the past and this may have been why they were panicked into action. The last thing they wanted was for a search operation to come across someone being held captive in an area of the country which had been used in the past to hold kidnap victims." | "This particular group would have been well aware of the Garda and Defence Forces' MO in the past and this may have been why they were panicked into action. The last thing they wanted was for a search operation to come across someone being held captive in an area of the country which had been used in the past to hold kidnap victims." |
| Irish supermarket tycoon Don Tidey was rescued from an IRA unit during a shootout in Ballinamore 30 years ago, during which an Irish soldier and Garda lost their lives. The woodland where the gun battle took place is not far from where McGeever was discovered three decades later. Tidey's freedom was down – at a terrible cost – to a nationwide hunt for the businessman. It was an operation McGeever's kidnappers may have feared would be repeated in the wake of the unrelated killing of Garda Donohoe. | Irish supermarket tycoon Don Tidey was rescued from an IRA unit during a shootout in Ballinamore 30 years ago, during which an Irish soldier and Garda lost their lives. The woodland where the gun battle took place is not far from where McGeever was discovered three decades later. Tidey's freedom was down – at a terrible cost – to a nationwide hunt for the businessman. It was an operation McGeever's kidnappers may have feared would be repeated in the wake of the unrelated killing of Garda Donohoe. |
| The McGeever kidnap is still shrouded in mystery since he discharged himself from hospital. The 68-year-old entrepreneur has been reluctant, so far, to give a full statement to the Garda investigation team. All he has said is that three masked and armed men abducted him in the garden of his "Nirvana" mansion. Yet, because he is not a suspect in relation to his ordeal, he cannot under Irish law be compelled to speak further about the events of the last eight months. Since McGeever reappeared wandering on an isolated Leitrim road, barefoot, wearing only a plastic bag, he has not yet given the Garda team an opportunity to fully interview him. | The McGeever kidnap is still shrouded in mystery since he discharged himself from hospital. The 68-year-old entrepreneur has been reluctant, so far, to give a full statement to the Garda investigation team. All he has said is that three masked and armed men abducted him in the garden of his "Nirvana" mansion. Yet, because he is not a suspect in relation to his ordeal, he cannot under Irish law be compelled to speak further about the events of the last eight months. Since McGeever reappeared wandering on an isolated Leitrim road, barefoot, wearing only a plastic bag, he has not yet given the Garda team an opportunity to fully interview him. |
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