Man arrested in Dundalk after vehicle stolen with teenage girl inside

Michael Bolton

A man has been arrested in Louth and a vehicle was seized after it was stolen in Belfast with a 17-year-old girl inside.

Gardaí were alerted by PSNI to a car, subject to an unauthorised taking in Belfast, which had entered the jurisdiction on the N1 Southbound.

The car was later located on the Newry Road in Dundalk and a man in his 20s, was arrested at a nearby location.

He is currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a Garda station in Co. Louth.

The vehicle was seized by gardaí and removed for technical examination.

Detective Sergeant McVeagh said: “The car stopped on the Saintfield Road, Lisburn, where the girl escaped from the vehicle.

“The car was observed a short time later driving at speeds in excess of 100mph on the A1 and officers made contact with our colleagues in An Garda Siochana (AGS) to inform them the vehicle was driving towards the border.

“At around 2.20am on Saturday, we received a report from AGS to say they had located the stolen car and had arrested a 25-year-old man in Dundalk, he remains in custody at this stage.

“The victim was not injured but left shaken by her ordeal. Thankfully, we are not dealing with any casualties after some very dangerous and reckless behaviour by the suspect involved.

“Excellent co-operative work between ourselves and our colleagues in the An Garda Siochana have ensured this vehicle was recovered and the suspect was arrested.”

Gardaí say investigations are ongoing.