2017-04-28 · Louth
Gardai "struck it lucky" in €660k tiger kidnapping investigation, court told
In a 2017 Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Gardai reported that they had "struck it lucky" in a €660,000 tiger‑kidnapping case involving Mark McCarthy, a 32‑year‑old heroin addict. McCarthy had left fingerprints on a pizza box and DNA on cigarette butts in a partially burnt car that also contained a Tesco Club Card receipt belonging to one of the victims. He pleaded guilty to false imprisonment of Warren and Jean Marie Nawn and their ten‑week‑old baby between 1 and 2 August 2011. The court heard that the Nawn family were held hostage in their home, then driven to a rural location where they were kept captive overnight, threatened repeatedly, and forced to hand over €661,125 from the Drogheda Post Office. McCarthy was said to have acted under duress, with his life threatened by a drug debt, and received no benefit from the offence.