Gardai ‘struck it lucky’ in false imprisonment investigation

By Fiona Ferguson

Gardai investigating the false imprisonment of a postal worker and his family “struck it lucky” after being alerted to a partially burnt out car which contained forensic evidence, a court has heard.

Mark McCarthy (32) left his finger prints on a pizza box and his DNA on cigarette butts in the car which also contained a receipt with the Tesco Club Card number of one of the victims on it.

Gardai accept McCarthy, a heroin addict, was acting under duress in his role in holding the family hostage before the postal worker was forced to hand over €661,125 from Drogheda Post Office.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard McCarthy’s life was under threat at the time of his involvement due to a drug debt and he did not get any benefit from his role in this offence.

McCarthy, of Elm Dale Crescent, Ballyfermot, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment of Warren and Jean Marie Nawn and their ten week old baby between August 1st and 2nd 2011.

The maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment.

Detective Garda Kieran Rohan told Lorcan Staines BL, prosecuting, that the family were held in their home by the raiders before being driven to a rural location where they were kept captive overnight.

The family were repeatedly threatened, sometimes at gunpoint, during this time.

The following day Mr Nawn was instructed to drive to his work place as normal and inform his supervisor what was happening.

A large cash delivery went ahead as normal before Mr Nawn took the money and dropped it to a location where it was recovered by the gang.

Ms Nawn who had been cable tied to a bed with her baby, managed to free herself after the raiders left and was found in a very distressed state.

Her ten week old baby, who had not been fed for 19 hours, was highly dehydrated.

The court heard gardai “struck it lucky” when a man observed two people running to another vehicle from an Opel Corsa which he discovered was burning.

The man managed to extinguish the fire and the car was seized by gardai who recovered the forensic evidence relating to McCarthy.

Judge Patricia Ryan adjourned the case until May 25 when a full plea in mitigation will be given on behalf of McCarthy by his legal team.