KIDNAPPING HELL | 

‘Family’ gang chief suspects as man abducted and savagely tortured in caravan

Sources said he was tied up, slashed and badly beaten and “effectively tortured”.

Today at 17:48

A major garda investigation is underway after a man was kidnapped from his west Dublin home before he became the victim of a savage and sustained assault.

The shocking incident happened last Friday and the victim was missing for a number of hours before he was found with horrific injuries in a caravan located a number of kilometres from his home.

It is understood the man was abducted from the Blanchardstown area where he lives and then brought to a location which is policed by Ronanstown gardaí on the other side of the capital.

Sources said he was tied up, slashed and badly beaten and “effectively tortured”.

A hammer and machete were understood to have been used.

Gardaí found the victim tied to a chair in the caravan after being alerted by associates of the targeted man.

Three men were seen fleeing the scene and it is understood there have been no arrests in the case.

The man required hospital treatment after his horrific ordeal.

Sources said that one line in the investigation is that associates of notorious drugs gang ‘The Family’ are behind the abduction and assault.

It is understood that a number of gang members had driven to the man’s property and he was forcibly removed from it in the presence of at least one of his traumatised female relatives.

sundayworld.com has contacted gardaí for comment on the case.

‘The Family’ gang are among Ireland’s most prolific drug dealing networks and are suspected of making millions of euro from trafficking in drugs, including heroin and cocaine.

They have been active players in the country’s drug scene for around two decades.

Their suspected leader, who is aged in his mid-40s, cannot be named here for legal reasons as he is facing serious charges before the courts.

The gang’s stronghold is in the Ballyfermot and Clondalkin areas of the capital. It has international contacts, particularly in Turkey and the UK, where they source their heroin for the Irish market.

‘The Family’ gang have been long-term targets for gardaí and have been subject to numerous raids and seizures by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) who have searched car dealerships connected to them.

At one stage they were being investigated for last summer’s gangland gun murder of criminal Gary ‘The Canary’ Carey in Dublin but associates of convicted criminal Derek “Dee Dee” O’Driscoll are now the chief suspects for that crime.