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15/09/2006
Police hunt for hijacking gang
Detectives both north and south of the border have launched a manhunt after a gang went on a hijacking spree, causing injury to a number of people in the process.
The hijackings are understood to have started at around 4am on yesterday morning, when police received reports of a burning car being discovered in the Newcastle area of County Down.
A short time later, police were called to Tullymore Forest Park, just outside Newcastle, after receiving reports that a man had been assaulted and his vehicle stolen.
The man was asleep in his caravan when the gang broke in, attacked him before stealing his car keys and making off in his silver coloured Vauxhall Astra. The man sustained facial injuries during the assault.
Shortly after midday, a woman was driving along the Newtownhamilton Road in the direction of the Belleek Road, County Armagh, when a car, matching the description of the vehicle which was stolen earlier collided with her vehicle.
The occupants of the car tried to hijack the woman's vehicle, and when they failed, proceeded to steal a people carrier, driven by a woman in her 50's.
It is understood that lorry driver who witnessed the incident, blocked the road forcing the car to crash.
The hijackers then seized a black Renault Laguna driven by a man in his 60's. They then assaulted the man, tied a noose around his neck, and forced him to drive across the Irish border to Dundalk.
Gardai are investigating a possible connection with these incidents and the hijacking of an 81-year-old woman in Dundalk, County Louth. The pensioner sustained a serious leg injury after being dragged form her car by a gang of youths.
Two of the youths are said to be aged in their late teens or early 20's, and spoke with strong southern accents.
No one was seriously injured during the incidents, however all were left badly shaken by their ordeals.
Ulster Unionist Newry and Mourne MLA Danny Kennedy said the incident raised concerns and said it was "highwaymen operating in broad daylight".
"A criminal gang operating in south Down and County Armagh were rampaging around the area interfering with cars, stealing cars and at one stage kidnapping a gentleman," he said. "He had the traumatic experience of having a rope placed around his neck and being brought across the border."
(EF/SP)
The hijackings are understood to have started at around 4am on yesterday morning, when police received reports of a burning car being discovered in the Newcastle area of County Down.
A short time later, police were called to Tullymore Forest Park, just outside Newcastle, after receiving reports that a man had been assaulted and his vehicle stolen.
The man was asleep in his caravan when the gang broke in, attacked him before stealing his car keys and making off in his silver coloured Vauxhall Astra. The man sustained facial injuries during the assault.
Shortly after midday, a woman was driving along the Newtownhamilton Road in the direction of the Belleek Road, County Armagh, when a car, matching the description of the vehicle which was stolen earlier collided with her vehicle.
The occupants of the car tried to hijack the woman's vehicle, and when they failed, proceeded to steal a people carrier, driven by a woman in her 50's.
It is understood that lorry driver who witnessed the incident, blocked the road forcing the car to crash.
The hijackers then seized a black Renault Laguna driven by a man in his 60's. They then assaulted the man, tied a noose around his neck, and forced him to drive across the Irish border to Dundalk.
Gardai are investigating a possible connection with these incidents and the hijacking of an 81-year-old woman in Dundalk, County Louth. The pensioner sustained a serious leg injury after being dragged form her car by a gang of youths.
Two of the youths are said to be aged in their late teens or early 20's, and spoke with strong southern accents.
No one was seriously injured during the incidents, however all were left badly shaken by their ordeals.
Ulster Unionist Newry and Mourne MLA Danny Kennedy said the incident raised concerns and said it was "highwaymen operating in broad daylight".
"A criminal gang operating in south Down and County Armagh were rampaging around the area interfering with cars, stealing cars and at one stage kidnapping a gentleman," he said. "He had the traumatic experience of having a rope placed around his neck and being brought across the border."
(EF/SP)
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A disabled man had to make his way to a neighbouring house on crutches following a car hijacking in Co Tyrone. The incident happened on the Shane Road in Sixmilecross at around 3am on Monday, 29 May. Two men flagged the victim down, dragged him out of his Nissan Qashqai, attacked him, removed his glasses and stole the car.
Disabled Man Attacked In Car Hijacking
A disabled man had to make his way to a neighbouring house on crutches following a car hijacking in Co Tyrone. The incident happened on the Shane Road in Sixmilecross at around 3am on Monday, 29 May. Two men flagged the victim down, dragged him out of his Nissan Qashqai, attacked him, removed his glasses and stole the car.
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